That Fateful Halloween
by dash11
Summary: AU - What if Wormtail's treachery were dicovered before Voldemort's fall? What if Voldemort decided to spare Lily? How would this change that fateful Halloween and its aftermath?
1. The Traitor

**_That Fateful Halloween_**

October 31, 1981

**The Traitor**

It was a dark and stormy night. Well, maybe not stormy. But it was certainly dark. And a cold breeze glided ominously through barren tree branches. Unexpectedly, the stillness was broken by a sharp crack, accompanied by the appearance of a man.

Severus Snape, for that was his name, moved purposefully through the trees, quickly finding a path that lead to a rather forbidding manor house. He felt vaguely relieved to be far away from dunderheads for the moment. He'd passed a terrifying two months, trapped in a classroom filled with moronic teenagers who mostly seemed intent on blowing themselves up. Earlier today, Mr. Ralts had actually mistaken a erumpent horn for dragon horn and came within a hairsbreadth of destroying the entire classroom. Snape scowled. Ralts was supposed to be a N.E.W.T. level student! And even a first year should not have made that mistake! Not that first years were ever allowed near such expensive and potentially explosive ingredients. Snape shuddered at the thought.

Tonight, Snape had managed to escape Hogwarts for a few hours, ostensibly to collect moondew for the school's sadly neglected potion's stores. Of course, it could be collected any night, but the moondew collected on Halloween night would be slightly higher quality. And Snape did some of the fresh moondew beneath his Death Eater's robes, but he knew that the Dark Lord would expect a report on Dumbledore's latest activities. So, here he was at headquarters, ready to deliver his report before returning to Hogwarts and a couple hundred sugar-laced teens.

Ignoring the main entrance, Snape strode to a smaller side door and reached out to knock before abruptly spinning about with a snapped Petrificus Totalus. Without lowering his wand, Snape slowly advanced on his downed foe. Long arched eyebrows rose together as the dark wizard pulled back the other man's hood.

"Peter Pettigrew. What an unexpected pleasure. I'd be quite delighted to show you inside." With a practiced sneer, Snape smoothly disarmed his enemy and bound the shorter man with a flick of his wand before un-petrifying Pettigrew. "But first, I'd like to know just how you managed to find this place, and to what we owe the pleasure of your company.

Pettigrew's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Please, I'm on your side!" Snape stiffened slightly; had Dumbledore been foolish enough to reveal Snape's role the outspoken Gryffindors in the Order? Especially to someone with a mind as unguarded as Pettigrew's…

"Indeed? Do you truly believe that?"

"I serve the Dark Lord too! Please, I mean it." So, at least the little fool didn't know about Snape's loyalties. Snape merely raise a skeptical eyebrow in response.

"I mean it! Look at my left arm! I swear I'm on your side!" Idly, Snape noted that Pettigrew's voice become progressively higher and squeakier as he become more and more nervous. He reminded Snape of some sort of rodent sometimes…

"Really Pettigrew, have you already forgotten my simple question. Why were you skulking about this place?"

"I belong here! I'm a Death Eater too! Just look at my arm." Black eyes met Pettigrew's watery ones and Snape was able to detect honesty in them. So, Pettigrew was the traitor…

"You…belong…here?" Skepticism would terrify Pettigrew even more. And part of Snape was enjoying Pettigrew's fear. Another part of him was horrified that Pettigrew would betray his friends so callously. He'd only had one true friend. And he would die before betraying her…

"Yes! I've done more to help _him_ than any of you! I should be able to come to headquarters like the rest of you."

"Oh really? And what exactly have you managed to do for the Dark Lord?"

"I've done what no one else can do! I've given him the Potters!" Snape froze in horror. Lily…

"You've _what_?!" They were supposed to be safe, behind a Fidelius Charm…

"They made me their Secret Keeper. They think they're safe, but I've given him their location…"

"When!?"

The rat-like wizard cringed a little; Snape's yellow teeth were bared, his normally empty black eyes wild. But, then he drew himself up bravely. "Why do you care?" Snape moved the tip of his wand to Pettigrew's throat.

"Two days ago. I think he might be planning to finish them off tonight. He wouldn't let me meet the other Death Eaters until the Potters had been taken care of…"

Snape interrupted him. "Where are they?"

"Who?"

Snape griped the front of Pettigrew's robes and pulled at the same time keeping his wand at the short wizard's throat. His mad eyes locked with Peter's. "The Potters, you dolt. Where are they?"

Pettigrew didn't doubt that a refusal to answer would mean instant death. "Godric's Hollow. Lily and James and Harry can be found at Godric's Hallow."

Snape dropped him and raced for the Apparition barrier. All he could think was that Lily was in danger. If the Dark Lord knew the Potter's location, he could be there already! Snape could only hope that he would arrive in time to warn Lily.

* * *

**Disclaimer** I do not own. Obviously. Given this is a _fan_ ficiton site.


	2. That Fateful Halloween

**That Fateful Halloween**

Godric's Hollow was a quiet little village, peaceful and subdued. Even tonight, Halloween night, the place seemed almost asleep despite couple of determined trick-or-treaters marching across the square. A soft pop announced the arrival of a hooded and cloaked figure.

In a confidant manner oddly reminiscent of last chapter, this dark wizard glided forward, smoothly and purposefully. Unnaturally red eyes glanced briefly at the children as they passed. Long white fingers fingered the slender wand briefly before the wizard continued onward.

This accomplished young Dark Lord was named Tom. Oddly enough, he preferred the title "Lord Voldemort." Of course, "Lord Tommy" does not have quite the same ring, so perhaps his preferences were not so strange after all.

Voldemort entered the gate, and calmly opened the door to a quiet home. The occupants already knew he was there; he could hear their frantic calls. As he entered the front door, he saw the silvery glow of a bright Patronus racing for help. It was no matter; by the time help arrived the child would be dead and he would be gone.

Voldemort easily dispatched James with a flick of his wand and continued upstairs. Stupid Gryffindors. They were far too reckless to realize that they would be safe if they stayed out of his way. They could not protect their son, and trying was a pointless endeavor that would merely get them killed.

Lily was waiting for him, standing between him and her son. She hadn't even drawn her wand.

She was no threat, so Voldemort decided to give her a chance. "Stand aside."

"Not Harry, please, not Harry." Clearly, she wasn't planning to take advantage of his mercy. He very generously repeated his offer.

"Stand aside, you silly girl." She was a talented witch. A mudblood, true, but she'd somehow produced a son 'with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord.' So her bloodline clearly had some merit. Besides, a young and still rather impressionable servant of his had requested that he spare her. And Voldemort made a point of rewarding his faithful servants. There was really no need for her to die tonight.

Unsurprisingly enough, she was a Gryffindor after all, she did not accept his generous offer.

Arguing with a determined Gryffindor was a complete waste of time, Voldemort knew. And she still hadn't even raised her wand. She collapsed without even attempting to defend herself from his wordless spell. He slowly stepped forward, eyed riveted by the baby.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord…" Voldemort dealt with idiots every day. No one could hope to match his tremendous talent or his great intellect. But this tiny child, this baby boy, would possess the power to defeat him. The toddler could grow to be his equal.

That could not be allowed to happen.

Carefully, Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it directly between the boy's eyes. The brilliant green, clearly inherited from the mother, stared into his scarlet with a strange sort of calmness. If the toddler recognized Voldemort as the source of his impending death, he didn't show it. This complete lack of fear was…disquieting.

It would only take two words to end the threat posed by this child.

Voldemort said the words.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy blinked with confusion. For a few seconds, he'd thought he'd been summoned, but then it had stopped. He glanced across the room to Rodolphus Lestrange, who also looked rather puzzled. Lestrange's wife was frozen in place, staring at her forearm. In fact, all the Death Eaters attending the Malfoy Halloween gala seemed confused.

One hundred and sixty kilometers away from Godric's Hollow, Peter Pettigrew gasped as pain shot through his left arm, only to fade a moment later. Twenty paces for him, Severus Snape reflexively reached for his forearm in mid stride before dismissing the summons as unimportant. He apparated away before the pain had time to fade.

* * *

**Disclaimer** I own all of the above. Except the characters. And a lot of the plot. And the locations, for the most part. And the spells. And every idea I've borrowed from JKR. I probably missed something. I don't own that thing either.

**A/N** Reviews will be treasured. If you don't review, that's pefectly fine, BUT you are missing an opportunity to make my world a better place.


	3. The Healer

**The Healer**

Snape rushed through the gate and through the open door without a pause. His stomach lurched horribly when he nearly tripped over James Potter's body in the hallway. The kitchen, living room, bathroom, office, and hallway closet were all empty. But somehow, he couldn't bear to call out, couldn't bear to hear only silence in reply.

As he started climbing the stairs, Snape finally heard soft wailing coming from above. He froze upon entering the room from which the odd sound was emanating. The place looked much as though it might had Crabbe or Goyle attempted to brew Draught of Living Death there in there. The door had been blown off the hinges, and broken furniture lay everywhere. A dresser, painted a cheerful white, lay on its side, and _a woman's slender hand was poking out from underneath._ Lily's fingers were short and soft, almost childlike, but still unquestionably a woman's fingers. She always kept her fingernails short and clean, rather than long and painted.

Although their friendship had ended years ago, Snape still instantly recognized Lily's beautiful hand.

This could not be happening. It was simply wrong. Pulling his wand out of his sleeve, Snape forced himself to speak.

"Wingardium Leviosa."

Slowly and carefully, he levitated the heavy dresser off of Lily's body. Legs suddenly too weak to hold himself upright, he collapsed to his knees. He felt oddly detached, somehow certain that any moment he would wake up and find that this whole situation was merely a nightmare.

Someone was crying. Slowly, laboriously, Snape stumbled to his feet, following the noise to find a baby on the wreckage of a crib. Lily's son. Harry, he remembered the name. He caught his breath when he saw Harry's green eyes, Lily's eyes. Of course, he'd heard that the mini-James's eyes resembled his mother's but he'd never seen the child before and seeing Lily's eyes in a toddler's face was somehow completely unexpected. The boy was crying, and Snape could see a rather odd cut on his forehead. But, miraculously, this appeared to be the child's only injury.

Carefully, he reached out to the tiny boy, who immediately began crying harder. Ignoring this, Snape picked him up and sat cross-legged on the floor, rocking back and forth and holding the little boy tightly against his chest. Somehow, he felt a sort of kinship with the boy. They'd both lost Lily tonight.

After a few minutes, the baby quieted down and Snape stared numbly at Lily's body. This was impossible. Lily couldn't die, she just couldn't. Without her, life was simply not worth living. It was…Snape stiffened. Was his imagination running wild, or had Lily's chest just moved?

Still clutching Harry to his chest, Snape crawled back to the boy's mother and whispered a diagnostic spell, as he should have done from the start. The results made him dizzy for a moment.

Lily was alive. Seriously injured from the fallen dresser, but alive nonetheless.

Snape could not afford to waste time rejoicing over Lily's survival. She needed the help of a trained mediwizard, and she needed it now. Quickly setting little Harry down, Snape began running his wand over her body.

He was actually quite good at healing magic. To him, knowledge of the healing arts was vital to any practitioner of the dark arts. It was logical. Only a very great fool would dare to deal damage without first learning how to undo it. Many Death Eaters were great fools, but Snape was not one of them. He had never used a curse that he could not heal if necessary. It had taken nearly two years to find a countercurse for Sectumsempra, but Snape had persevered. Without a countercurse, the dark spell would be far too dangerous to use. And _definitely_ too dangerous to share with anyone else.

Snape probably knew more about healing for curse spells than the top healers at Saint Mungos, simply because of his combined interests in healing curses and in the dark arts. Most people were unaware of this fact, however, as Snape was more interested in developing the persona of a ruthless darks arts master than that of a kindly healer.

Lily had not been cursed, merely stunned and then hit with a falling dresser. Snape was fairly competent at basic healing spells too, the result of an unlucky life combined with a dislike of healers.

Lily's only life-threatening injury was serious internal bleeding in her abdomen. Once he'd fixed that, Snape moved on to the broken ribs and collarbone, then fixing various other minor cuts and bruises.

He felt sick with guilt. Oh why had he simply assumed that she was dead? With that internal bleeding, she could have died simply because he'd forgotten to check his initial assumptions. Really, this whole situation was his fault. If it weren't for him, the Dark Lord wouldn't have come here tonight and…..

None of this made sense. If the Dark Lord had truly come here tonight, Harry would be dead. Speaking of Harry… The boy was holding his arms out and wailing again. Snape picked the tiny child up again, and Harry instantly quieted. Snape glances down and the boy smiled contentedly at him. Snape blinked in shock. Children did not smile at him. Ever. And that cut… It was probably caused by the explosion that destroyed this room. Yet, that explanation seemed off. The cut was too clean, too sharp. Flying debris would not leave a cut shaped like a lightning bolt.

Belatedly realizing that he still hadn't cast a diagnostic charm on the boy, Snape quickly cast one. The boy was healthy, but that forehead injury seemed off. Closer examination revealed the true nature of the cut. Snape's eyes widened slightly when all signs showed that the boy's cut had in fact come from some kind of dark magic, probably a curse. There wasn't time to examine the baby's forehead more closely at the moment though – Harry was safe and Lily still needed attention.

* * *

**Disclaimer** If I owned Harry Potter, I would not be writing fanfiction. I would be...doing whatever JKR does I guess.

**A/N** I wasn't planning to post this tonight. But, all of your lovely reviews motivated me to ignore my real work and write this instead!


	4. Black Night

**Black Night**

"Enervate." Lily's eyelids fluttered open slowly.

"James?" Her murmur was faint, barely audible. Snape winced, suddenly remembering that while Lily and her son may have survived this night; their husband and father had not. He'd hated James – the arrogant showoff who could never begin to deserve Lily – with a deep and abiding passion, but now that sentiment hardly seemed to matter anymore. All that mattered was that James shouldn't have died like this, without the opportunity to see his son grow up. All that mattered was that little Harry Potter was now fatherless, that Lily was a widow, that their family had been ruthlessly broken.

Gently, he grasped her hand and whispered, "I'm sorry, Lily."

Her gaze suddenly sharpened. "Sev?" Then her green eyes narrowed abruptly and the questions arrived, rapid-fire. "What are _you_ doing here? Is Harry alright? Where's James? What happened?" As she remembered, her eyes widened with sudden panic. "Harry!"

"Shush, shush, now calm down. You mustn't get up. Harry is fine." Snape quickly handed the child over in hopes of calming the mother down. Lily was out of immediate danger, but she still needed a hospital.

Lily snatched Harry, although she didn't calm down. "And James? Where is James?"

"I... He…" Snape didn't have a clue what to say; he was well out of his element. Offering words of comfort had never exactly been his forte.

"He didn't make it did he." It wasn't a question. Snape only looked at her and she pulled Harry closer, closing her eyes for a moment.

"He, _he_ was here." Lily shivered. "I should be dead by now. Why aren't I dead by now? And Harry… I was trying to protect Harry. But, I failed somehow."

"You are both still alive. I would count that that as a success." Snape pulled a small vial of blood-replenishing potion – always a useful commodity to have on hand – out of his robes. "Drink this."

It occurred to him as she swallowed without a second thought that Lily had always trusted him implicitly. She was the only person ever to do so. Snape's face did not generally engender trust.

Lily's mind was still working. "What happened? It looks like a bomb went off in here. And you haven't told me how you got here."

Snape was about to answer when he heard a footstep just outside the nursery. With reflexes honed from years of exposure to the Marauders, he drew his wand and spun about in a single fluid motion. He was too slow.

"EXPELLIARMUS! Don't move!" Snape froze, staring in shock at Sirius Black.

"You'll pay for this, _Snivellus_," snarled Black. "First Peter, then Prongs. Trying to pick us off one by one, coward?" Snape wasn't entirely sure what Black was going on about this time. Then again, the man was unstable at the best of times. And he'd probably found his best friend's body before coming up the stairs.

"Padfoot! Stop it, _now_!" Lily's voice cut like a knife.

"Lily?" Black stared behind Snape in surprise. "Looks like I arrived before you could finish the job, filthy _murderer._"

Snape wasn't sure how to get out of this situation. Clearly, he couldn't wait for the madman to attack him. If only he could get at his wand…

"Don't hurt him, Sirius." Snape pointedly avoided looking at his wand, lying merely five feet away from his boots. If Lily could distract Black enough…

"He deserves it Lils. He killed James." Really, Snape thought as he met Black's glare with equal venom, the man didn't have much tact.

"No Padfoot. You-Know-Who killed him. He was here. He wanted to kill Harry." Lily's voice was perfectly steady, something Snape regarded as miraculous considering the traumatic events of the night.

Black's mouth gaped open like a fish for a few moments. "But, how? I mean how are you still here then? Did James…"

Black's sentence was never finished because Snape chose that instant to lunge for his wand.

"STUPEFY," bellowed Black, like many Gryffindors, the man seemed to believe that the louder he shouted the more powerful his spell would be. The spell went over Snape's head and hit Lily just in front of her right temple. She slumped to the floor.

Horrified, Snape lunged desperately to her side. She couldn't be dead…

"STUPEFY!" Snape's world faded to black.

* * *

**Disclaimer** Me no own Harry Potter. No me has the genius of JKR.

**A/N** In case you haven't figured it out by this point, I'm a first time writer. And I'd like to find a Beta, but it's quite intimidating and I don't have a clue where to start! I need someone who can help find any grammatical/spelling errors that I've missed, and who won't hesitate to tell me if something in the story doesn't make sense. They can be as critical as they like; I'm not easily offended, and I welcome constructive criticism. Any advice? Recommendations? Thanks! - dash11


	5. To Kill a Rat

**To Kill A Rat**

Dumbledore was enjoying in a late-night snack with Hagrid – the Halloween feast had been hours ago after all – when Lily's patronus arrived.

"He's here! You-Know-Who is here!" The silvery doe faded.

"That's Lily Potter's voice!" Hagrid lunged to his feet immediately. "We got ter help them Professor!"

More calmly than he felt, Dumbledore gently raised one hand. "It's too late by now, I'm afraid. By the time we arrived, the Potters would be long gone."

"So they're gone?" The half-giant was still in shock.

Before Dumbledore could answer, a piercing whistle sounded from his right pocket. Reaching inside, the old wizard removed a small glass ball filled with light grey mist and held out.

Hagrid stared blankly for a few seconds. "Jus' wha' is tha'?"

"This, Rubeus, is an enemeter. It shows the status of one of my enemies."

"Never heard o' tha' before."

"They are very rare, and difficult to use. With a bit of effort however, I managed to get this one working."

"Shouldn' we be worryin' 'bout the Potters jus' now, Professor?"

"This has a great deal to do with the Potters my boy. You see, a black enemeter means that the enemy it's set to is alive and kicking. But mine is indicating that Voldemort has fallen."

"e's dead?"

"Perhaps," said Dumbledore, doubtfully studying the color of his device. It wasn't white. Close, but not quite. "At any rate, he's fallen from power for the moment." Now was the time to move. The Ministry would need to round up Voldemort's followers as quickly as possible, before they went to ground. And someone needed to go the Godric's Hollow and find out what exactly had happened.

"Come with me to the castle." Contrary to all appearances, Dumbledore could move surprisingly quickly, and within five minutes he'd gathered Minerva McGonagall and Hagrid to his office. He wished he could talk to Severus, but his spy hadn't yet returned to the school.

How had Voldemort found the Potters anyway? There were really only two options: their Secret Keeper was either dead or a traitor. Dumbledore looked up and clearly stated, "The Potter's hiding place can be found at…" He couldn't finish the sentence.

The other two stared blankly back. Time to explain the situation to them.

"The Potters have been betrayed by their Secret Keeper, and Voldemort has attacked them. Something happened to him there. He may be dead, at any rate he is nearly so."

"Hagrid, my boy, you already know the Potter's hiding place don't you? I need you to go there and find out what happened for me."

"Minerva, I need to talk to the Wizengamot immediately, and I need you to run the school for a few days. No doubt discipline will be difficult to maintain once the morning news arrives."

Minerva glanced at Hagrid somewhat cautiously. "Very well. But, for tonight I will go with Hagrid, if you don't mind."

"Unless you know the Potter's location, that's impossible, my dear." Minerva's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Now we must hurry. Hagrid, I will create a Portkey for you."

* * *

Harry was wailing. Having tightly bound the local Death Eater, Sirius gently picked him up, murmuring gentle nonsense until his godson quieted. He ran his wand over Lily; as an Auror he was well-trained in simple diagnostic and healing spells. She'd been halfway to her feet when the stunning spell hit. Most unfortunately, the back of head had collided with the corner of the fallen dresser on the way down. Sirius found several other injuries, including some signs of internal bleeding.

Hearing heavy footsteps downstairs, Sirius quickly stood up, wondering if one of Snivellus's cruel friends had come to call. Instead, he found Hagrid gently shutting James' eyes for the last time.

"Dumbledore sent me." The giant man's chest puffed out importantly. "The Potter's Secret Keeper betrayed 'em. An' You-Know-You came 'ere. But something happened ta 'im, so I'm checkin' the place fer Dumbledore."

Up until that moment, Sirius had believed Wormtail dead. Possibly murdered by the Death Eater upstairs. No other possibilities had occurred to him.

It was difficult to get the words out. "The Secret Keeper…betrayed them?"

Hagrid gave him an odd look. "Tha's what Professor Dumbledore said."

The Secret Keeper…betrayed James and Lily. Wormtail betrayed James and Lily. The initial surge of shock was quickly replaced by fury. That rat! That traitor!

Sirius gritted his teeth and concentrated on what needed to be done now. "Harry and Lily are still alive. Lily needs a Healer. And one of You-Know-Who's Death Eaters was still here when I arrived. He's unconscious and tied up, upstairs. Can you take care of all that? I need to go." To kill a rat…

"O' course!" Hagrid was a kind and trusting man by nature. And Sirius knew that he would protect Harry and Lily. And bring Snivellus back to the Order for questioning. Sirius's boyhood nemesis was clearly up to no good. Sirius was loath to leave the sneaky Slytherin with only Hagrid to guard him, but catching Wormtail was more important at the moment.

Sirius had arrived at Godric's Hollow in response to James' frantic message via their mirrors, prepared for battle and terrified of what he might find. He left filled with determination to avenge his best friend's murder.

* * *

**Disclaimer **This is gonna be a tremendous shock to you guys, so sit down and breathe deeply. I am not JKR, and I don't own _Harry Potter_. I know, I had you completely fooled. But, there you have it.

**A/N** Sorry there's no Snape OR Lily in this chapter. I'm still looking for a good beta reader, but I'm an _extremely_ impatient person, and I wanted to post this now. On a different note, please remember that reviews are ONLY motivation for continuing to write. So, thank-you to anyone who's ever bothered to review this story. This chapter is for you. Heck, that's true of the whole story!

To the Sirius Black haters out there: Be warned, _I_ happen to like the man. His appearance was bad news last chapter, but try to imagine the scene from his point of view. He gets a message from James and rushes to help. When he arrives, he finds his best friend's body downstairs and an enemy upstairs. Would _you_ be very nice in that kind of situation? I sure wouldn't.


	6. Awakening

**Awakening**

Warmth. Comfort. A soft crackling noise – from a fire? Snape blinked hazily, trying to clear his fogged brain. This place was far more cozy and welcoming than his rooms. Looking around, he realized that he was in Hagrid's hut.

"Ah, yer awake then. Feeling alrigh'?" For a moment, Snape stared into Hagrid's warm beetle-black eyes blankly and then memory returned.

"Black!"

"Easy there lad, don' hurt yerself there." Hagrid pushed him firmly back down onto the cot.

"Where's Lily?" Snape's normally empty black gaze was rather wild. "She needs a Healer's help!" And while Black probably wouldn't deliberately harm her, the man couldn't be trusted to properly care for a goldfish, let alone an injured Lily Evans.

Hagrid grabbed his shoulders firmly and shoved him down again. "She's in the 'ospital wing. Madam Pomfrey's takin' righ' good care of her, so calm down now lad."

Snape didn't relax. "Are you sure she's alright?" As an afterthought he added, "And what about her son?"

"Harry's with her. They're both fine." With a deep breath, Snape went limp. Hagrid released the iron grip holding Snape fast and turned toward the fireplace. This was a mistake, as his patient immediately clambered out of the cot and darted for the door. Hagrid caught up with him quickly. "'Ere now, lad, everythin's alright now."

Not wanting to be recaptured and forced back into bed, Snape watched the giant's movements closely. "What happened, Hagrid? Last thing I remember, Sirius Black was shouting spells."

"Dumbledore sen' me to the Potter's. Didn' expect to see ya there. I brough' all o' ye' back here to Hogwarts."

"Did you see Black?" Snape wondered how long he'd been unconscious. It was still dark outside.

"Yeah, but 'e 'ad to go. Said 'e needed to leave. To be 'onest, 'e was actin' right oddly." Silently, Snape filed that information away for future reference. He was honestly surprised the man hadn't arrested him.

As they entered the school, Hagrid gave a meaningful cough, and pointed out that Snape needed a change of clothing, as Death Eater robes were hardly typical schoolteacher attire. After mumbling, "I know _that_," in his best you-are-being-a-dunderhead tone, Snape stalked back to the dungeons to change. He suspected that Hagrid was not fooled.

Normally, he was good at remembering details, even under pressure. But tonight, he seemed to be doing everything wrong, arriving too late, reacting too slowly, not noticing important details. What was wrong with him tonight?

All was quiet in the hospital wing. Snape found Lily asleep on one of the beds. His quick diagnostic spell revealed that she was doing well. She'd hit her head pretty hard, but Madam Pomfrey had already tended to the injury.

Her son was also fast asleep, lying in a small cot next to Lily.

Finally, Snape found himself relaxing. She was safe; her son was safe. Asleep, she looked positively angelic. A soft lock of red hair covered her left eye and cheek; he wanted to tuck it behind her ear, but didn't dare touch her. Really, he didn't belong here at her side. He was a born misfit, all greasy and dark and defensive while she was a born star, all beauty and light and kindness and trust. Tonight however, he didn't want her to be left alone. What if she woke up, alone and afraid?

There was a great deal to think about now. For starters, he needed a better way to protect her, for trusting Dumbledore's judgment had clearly not been enough. The Dark Lord might have failed to end her son's life tonight, but that only meant that he was sure to try again. Really, it was essential that he find out exactly what had happened tonight when the Dark Lord came to Godric's Hollow. And he needed to look more closely at Harry's strange cut.

For tonight, he didn't want to think about it all. Didn't want to contemplate James' death, didn't want to speculate about any of the events of the night. He only wanted to relax for a few minutes, and Lily's presence made that far too easy…

Snape slept.

* * *

A hand shook his shoulder gently, and Snape snapped awake, flinching violently. Madam Pomfrey held her hands up soothingly. "Easy there. I must admit, I never expected to see _you_ here. What on earth are you doing? And when did you arrive, anyway?" Snape only looked at her and she placed her hands firmly over her hips. "You didn't need to sleep here, you know. That's what your own _bed_ is for." Her voice was rather sharp. When he didn't answer, she huffed and checked over Lily and Harry. "Fine then, stay here if you like; _I_ have work to do. Come get me if Mrs. Potter wakes." She disappeared into her office.

Stretching his cramped muscles, Snape checked the time. Six thirty-four. He watched Lily's even breaths for a few minutes. Hearing, movement from the cot, he turned to see that child was awake and holding out his arms. For a few moments the man and the boy stared at each other in silence. The child really did look like a miniature version of James, Snape thought disdainfully.

Harry held his hands out imperiously. "Up." Snape scowled and crossed his arms firmly across his chest. The brat was already acting like his arrogant father! He abruptly remembered that the child no longer had a father…

"Up!" Harry was insistent. Snape turned his back on the child. "Up!" For such a small creature, the boy was surprisingly loud. If someone didn't silence him, the little brat would probably awaken Lily. And she looked far too peaceful to wake. Snape glanced back to where Madam Pomfrey's office door remained stubbornly shut.

"UP!"

Clearly there was nothing else for it. Snape snatched the child out of his cot, and the little brat gurgled happily. Snape frowned, there was obviously something wrong with the child. After all, most children cried when forced into any kind of proximity to him. Of course, this one was still very young. Maybe he was simply too young for Snape's methods of intimidation to work properly.

"Mama," said Harry.

"Yes, that's your mother." Snape was glad that no one else was here to see this.

A gentle cough sounded from directly behind him, causing him to startle and spin about wildly, clutching Harry protectively. It was Dumbledore.

* * *

**Disclaimer** Can you imagine what _Harry Potter_ would be like if I owned any of these characters? If I owned Lily, for example, Snape wouldn't have switched sides and Voldemort would be ruling the wizarding world. If I owned Snape, Harry wouldn't have had a convenient adversary to blame for everything. If I owned Harry, there would be any such thing as _Harry Potter_. It would be called _The Triumph of Tom_ or something like that. So you see, everything belongs in its proper place and JKR owns all of these characters.

**A/N** I _am _a native English speaker, so feel free to blame me for any and all errors of that nature. Special thanks go to all who have reviewed! And one more thing - please tell me if you can't understand Hagrid. I'm afraid that I'm writing his accent too thick...


	7. The-Boy-Who-Lived

**The Boy-Who-Lived**

Dumbledore blinked at the young man in front of him. He would never have expected to find the Slytherin gently holding his rival's son. But then, all his preconceptions of Severus Snape had been proven wrong before.

* * *

He'd already heard Hagrid's report, and he didn't entirely understand exactly how Severus had managed to be at Godric's Hollow last night. Had he come with Voldemort? Dumbledore didn't doubt the boy's loyalty to Lily Potter, but the desperate young wizard might have made some kind of deal with his master. Dumbledore didn't doubt that if Voldemort offered Lily protection, Snape would abandon the side of the Light before you could say "tweak." It was unlikely that Voldemort possessed the wisdom to recognize this fact, but the possibility concerned Dumbledore.

Sometimes he envied Hagrid; the half-giant trusted the young Potions Master without question simply because Dumbledore trusted him. Dumbledore only hoped that his trust in the reformed Death Eater was not misplaced.

Then again, according to Hagrid, Sirius Black had left Snape at Godric's Hollow to be arrested. Dumbledore shook his head sadly. He's had such high hopes for the black sheep of the Black family; Sirius had then proceeded to betray his best friend to Voldemort. It _was_ odd that Sirius had left another Death Eater behind. Then again, they'd hated each other since first year and the Death Eaters were hardly known for their loyalty towards each other.

All this speculating was not leading to a conclusion, so Dumbledore sought out his spy to hear Severus's version of last night's events.

* * *

"I thought you didn't care one whit for Harry."

"I don't," snapped Snape much too quickly. "He was about to awaken his mother."

Dumbledore merely smiled that knowing, _irritating_ smile of his and said nothing.

"She needs to rest. _Someone_ had to silence the brat."

"Of course." The Headmaster was still smiling.

"Would you like to hold him sir?" Snape, very politely, attempted to fob the child off to Dumbledore before it started drooling or something.

"Oh, he really looks quite comfortable where he is, my boy. I should hate to disturb him." Ignoring Snape's glower, Dumbledore conjured a squashy armchair beside Lily's bed. "I simply came to hear your report of last night's rather intriguing events."

Reluctantly continuing to hold the toddler, Snape studied the floor, composing his thoughts. "As you are no doubt aware, I intended to report to Headquarters after collecting my moondew."

"Lemon sherbet?" Dumbledore interrupted his train of thought.

"What?"

"Would you like a lemon sherbet? I'm quite fond of them."

Sometimes, being civil to the Headmaster could be an extraordinarily difficult task. "No. Thank-you." What kind of person ate Muggle sweets before breakfast?

"Are you sure? No? Then perhaps Harry would like a treat." The old wizard held out a lemon sherbet, then pulled his hand back upon catching sight of Snape's expression.

"As I was saying," Snape refrained from commenting on pointless interruptions, "I then discovered the Dark Lord's plans to attack the Potters tonight. After determining their location from that… _backstabber_…"

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "He shocked us all, my boy."

"He turned on his _friends_. They…they would've willingly died for him," Gryffindors tended to do things like that, "and he _betrayed_ them." Snape didn't understand Pettigrew at all.

Dumbledore studied him thoughtfully for a few moments, before returning to the topic at hand. "So you went to warn the Potters?"

"Yes, but I was too late. Miraculously they," he gestured to Lily and the boy, "were still alive." He raised his eyebrows questioningly, hoping that the older wizard would be able to shed some light on the matter. But, Dumbledore merely smiled and asked where Lily's wand had been.

"I…I'm not sure. I don't remember seeing it."

"What about Lily? Was she hurt?"

"Stunned, and then a piece of furniture had fallen on her. It did some damage." Dumbledore nodded and bid him continue.

_"Black_," Snape infused at much venom into his voice as he could manage, "showed up out of nowhere and started firing curses. That's the last thing I remember."

Lost in thought, Dumbledore merely nodded and studied Lily.

"Sir?"

"Yes, my boy?"

"What exactly happened at the Potters last night?"

Leaning back and steepling his long fingers, Dumbledore nodded. "That's a difficult question to answer. But I can tell you what I know."

"Something happened when Voldemort," the Headmaster completely ignored Snape's flinch, "tried to kill Harry Potter. Now, he is gone."

Snape found it very difficult to believe that the Dark Lord could be vanquished so easily. "For good?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Possibly. My sources indicate that he has lost his power. But, he still may come back, eventually."

After a few minutes of shock, Snape stared incredulously at the child in his arms. "How is this possible?"

"I can only speculate about it my boy. However, I believe that Lily was the one that stopped him."

There was a long pause, finally broken by Snape's impatient, "Well?"

"Well what, Severus?" Getting information out of Dumbledore was like pulling teeth. "How did she stop him?"

"Once again, I can only speculate." Snape clenched his teeth, suppressing the urge to throw a tantrum, since there was no way to force the older wizard to get to the point any faster. "All I know is that she never took her wand out of her pocket that night. It follows that she was not trying to defend herself."

Forcing himself to remain silent, Snape waited impatiently while the older wizard carefully unstuck two lemon sherbets and placed one in his mouth. After all, the Headmaster would eventually have to explain exactly why Lily would do such a thing and how this might lead to the Dark Lord's defeat. Eventually, Dumbledore continued.

"Lily Potter meant to sacrifice her own life for her son's last night. She invoked ancient magic, fueled by the most powerful force there is: love. When Voldemort tried to kill the boy, Lily's sacrifice protected him, and Voldemort's curse rebounded onto him."

Snape privately wondered if Dumbledore was going senile in his old age. Just in case the elderly wizard wasn't, he gave the theory some serious thought. "Why is she still alive then, sir?"

"It appears Voldemort merely stunned her." Dumbledore popped a lemon sherbet into his mouth.

"Since she did not actually die, why did the magical protection work? And if magic like that existed, wouldn't the Dark Lord have been defeated long ago? Lily Evans is hardly the first mother who has ever been willing to die for her child."

"Her intent was the important part, my boy. She intended to die for her son, therefore the magic protects him. And most mothers fight to defend themselves and their children. Lily didn't."

"So, Harry was protected because Lily didn't defend herself?" Snape asked doubtfully.

"Harry was protected because Lily loved him enough to give her life for him. By not defending herself, Lily invoked that magic."

They both stared down at Lily in silence.

Harry broke the silence with another emphatic, "Mama." And Lily finally stirred. Her eyes opened, unfocused at first, before zeroing in on little Harry. Then she noticed Snape.

She blinked in confusion, glancing quickly about the room for a few seconds. "Where am I?"

"Hogwarts, my dear girl," Dumbledore answered, "Madam Pomfrey has been tending to your injuries."

Lily's eyes widened with shock. "Injuries? What happened? Is Harry alright?" Her eyes suddenly widened with horror. "Where's James?"

* * *

**Disclaimer** I own seven _Harry Potter_ books. But not the ideas contained therein. Or the characters, thankfully (see chapter 6 disclaimer).


	8. Missing Memories

**Missing Memories**

There was a very long silence. Lily's breath was coming in short and fast, and her gaze was darting rapidly from place to place, clearly hoping that her husband would miraculously appear. Snape couldn't speak; it was horrible to see her like this, knowing that nothing would ever bring James back.

Dumbledore gently placed a slender hand on the edge of the bed. "My dear, sweet, lovely girl…" She sat up abruptly, reaching for Harry who giggled abruptly, startling Snape. Clutching the tiny boy closely to herself, Lily's sharp gaze met Dumbledore's.

"Tell me what happened." Her voice broke slightly, "James, where is James?"

"I'm sorry, Lily."

"No! That isn't….it's just not…tell me you're lying." Dumbledore just reached forward to grasp her hand gently. After a few moments, Lily met his eyes again. "Wha…What happened? I don't remember…I don't remember _anything._"

"Would you care for a lemon sherbet?" Dumbledore just _had_ to offer. Snape clenched his fists. Didn't she at least remember the Dark Lord's visit?

Lily wasn't so easily distracted. "Tell me what happened."

"All in good time my girl," Snape wanted to hex the old wizard for drawing this out. All this meandering had to be horrible for Lily, but he just couldn't force himself to speak, to tell her the truth. "But first, you must tell me what the last thing you remember is."

She blinked. "I…we finished preparing everything for the Fideleus Charm and went to bed early. I don't remember anything unusual..."

"What is today's date, my dear?"

"October 23."

"Ahh," said Dumbledore gently.

Lily's eyebrows shot upward. She'd had enough. "Ahh what Professor?! Can you finally _tell_ me what _happened_?!"

"You hit your head rather hard, I'm afraid," the Headmaster began at his usual pace, but Snape finally found his voice and interrupted.

"This is the first of November. You've apparently lost your memory of the past week." He swallowed hard. How did you tell your best friend that the man she'd chosen over you had been murdered? Or that she and her child had very nearly followed him in death?

She deserved to know the truth, so he forced himself to continue. "You succeeded in hiding behind the Fideleus, however, your _friend_ betrayed you to the Dark Lord, and he came to kill your son last night." He paused than croaked out, "Obviously, he failed." Thank Merlin for that. The realization that Lily should be dead right now was far too horrible to contemplate.

"James?"

"Died defending you, I believe." It was probable enough.

Lily's beautiful eyes filled with tears and she hugged Harry even closer. "Why…How can we still be alive?"

Dumbledore spoke up then. "No one is entirely sure about that. But, he's gone Lily. Something happened to him last night, and he lost his power. Somehow, you and Harry were more than a match for him."

Lily gave him a tiny smile. "Or maybe it was James." Snape sincerely doubted this. The idea that Lily had defeated the Dark Lord was insane, but at least _she_ was brilliant and talented and _might_ have been able to pull off something incredible. James, one the other hand, was good at exactly three things: Quidditch, Transfiguration, and charming the socks off of almost everyone he met. None of these things would have helped him against the Dark Lord.

"That's quite enough. My patient needs to sleep now." Snape flinched as Madame Pomfrey's bossy voice cut out unexpectedly from just behind his left elbow.

"She's lost her memory of the past week or so, I'm afraid." Dumbledore murmured gently.

"Mmmm, I suppose it's _possible_ with that head wound…" Madame Pomfrey tried, unsuccessfully, to pry Harry out of his mother's arms. "Come now girl, I won't hurt him, and you need to rest. Drink this now."

Lily wasn't about to let go so easily. "He _needs _me."

"Of course he does." Speaking to Lily, Poppy Pomfrey sounded far gentler than she ever had while speaking to Snape. "But you need to rest and heal properly before you can properly care for him. I promise, he'll be well-cared for. Drink now. For Harry." She held a goblet to Lily's lips.

Resigned, Lily swallowed the Dreamless Sleep potion without releasing Harry.

"Well now," Dumbledore smiled kindly down at the young woman as he stood up. "I'd love to stay, but I really must return to the Ministry. Responsibility can be rather tiresome at times."

Staring blankly down at Lily and her son, Snape didn't really register the Headmaster's words until Madame Pomfrey – he couldn't quite bring himself to call her Poppy, even in his head – pushed in front of him to pry little Harry out of Lily's arms. Then another realization hit him.

"My classes!" He had third year potions first thing this morning, and the classroom wasn't _near_ ready for them yet! He hadn't even begun to set out ingredients…

"Relax, my boy, classes will be canceled for the day. We can hardly expect anyone to concentrate on classes after all. In fact, I'm considering canceling classes until after the holidays…" The old wizard thoughtfully popped another lemon sherbet into his mouth.

Snape nodded with relief. Free from classes, he would be free to brew. Preferably something complicated. It would give him something else to concentrate on.

"Poppy, you won't have any trouble looking after Harry now, will you?" As Snape rose and approached the door, he wondered idly about the Headmaster's unaccustomed solicitousness. It was out of character for the man to worry about imposing on others' lives.

"I don't mind, but to be honest I'm not really the best caretaker, Albus. I spend far too much time around sick children, you know. And emergencies do come up at the most inconvenient times." Snape pushed open the door.

"Wait a moment, Severus." Snape spun around and glared, wondering what the old wizard was planning this time.

"Really, that won't be necessary, Poppy. I'd hate to inconvenience you." Dumbledore beamed. "I'd love to care for him, but I'm afraid that I'm needed elsewhere." Snape suddenly realized where the Headmaster was going with this and backed up, desperate to escape. "However, I'm sure that Severus would be happy to care for the boy for a few hours."

Madame Pomfrey glanced dubiously at Snape, who was shaking his head frantically.

"Yes, that would be best for everyone I think." Dumbledore was nodding happily. "Don't you think so, Severus?"

"I…no, I really can't…far too busy, you know…" Snape stammered.

"I'm sure Lily would rather you took him. After all, I wouldn't be surprised if Poppy was kept busy all day today. The students will be celebrating, and I'd be very surprised if they didn't become a bit too enthusiastic. Would Lily want her son to be stuck in the hospital wing with Poppy too busy for him?"

"I…I'm sure that someone else can take him." Snape had a nasty suspicion that he was fighting a losing battle.

Dumbledore sighed. "I suppose there's always Rebeus."

Hagrid? Was Dumbledore crazy? Seeing Snape's expression, the older wizard quickly pressed his advantage. "I know he'll care for little Harry to the best of his ability. And since no one else will volunteer…"

"I'll take him. For a few hours, no more." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled cheerfully.

"Then it's settled."

* * *

**Disclaimer** Lean closer and I'll tell you a secret. _I don't think that JKR posts _Harry Potter _stories on fanfiction._ Now for the mathmatically inclined, given that my assumption is true, prove that dash11 does not own _Harry Potter_.

1) JKR and only JKR owns the characters and world of _Harry Potter, _therefore JKR does not write _Harry Potter_ fanfiction.

2) This is part of a fanfiction written by dash11, therefore dash11 DOES write _Harry Potter_ fanfiction.

Therefore, dash11 is not JKR and dash11 does not own _Harry Potter_. (And clearly, math classes are slowly driving dash11 insane...)

**A/N** Gee, I'm not sure what happened here. I planned this chapter one way, and then when I actually started typing, it mutated! On it's own! It wrote itself! Out of my control! Thankfully it didn't change the plot of the story as a whole.

This chapter is dedicated to Saramagician. Because I especially enjoyed her last review. It proved she was paying attention to the story.

Thank-you to everyone who has reviewed! You guys are my motivation!


	9. The Babysitter

**The Babysitter**

Shock. Pain. Loss. Fury. The feelings overwhelmed him. Above all there was a sense of unreality, the knowledge that this could not be true, the Dark Lord could not be gone. It was simply…impossible. He was immortal, powerful, and now…the Daily Prophet claimed that he was gone.

Furiously, he burned it, burned their filthy lies. They would pay for making such a claim! The Potters...defeat the Dark Lord…ridiculous! He would make them pay for printing such vile filth! Gulping down another swig of firewhiskey, he paced rapidly back and forth for a few moments before stopping and pulling up his left sleeve.

There was nothing there.

The Dark Mark was gone. He could feel himself shaking. It was impossible that the Dark Lord could have been defeated. But, it was also impossible for his mark to disappear like that. Last night…he remembered the sudden pain from the Mark, followed by nothingness as it faded from his skin.

He refused to believe that the Dark Lord could possibly be dead. But, he needed to ensure that there was no truth behind these rumors first. The other Death Eaters might know. He nodded to himself. He would go find out what the Lestranges knew first.

* * *

Snape was immensely relieved to learn that his ordeal was finally over upon receiving Madame Pomfrey's message that Lily was finally awake. Spending the day catering to a snot-nosed baby was not his idea of fun. To make matters worse, other teachers insisted on gushing over the boy.

"He's sooo cute!" "What a handsome liddle boy! Just like 'is Daddy." "Goochi goochi goo. Oh look! He's smiling at me!" "Ohh, how adorable! He likes you, Severus!" Even McGonagall cracked a slight smile and murmured, "He really is extraordinarily good-natured. Not fussy at all."

None of them would take responsibility for him, however. "I'd love to take him, but I really can't, Severus. You know how it is. Papers to grade, students running rampant…" The Prophet had brought news of the Dark Lord's defeat, classes had been canceled for the week, and the students were going wild. Snape still needed to talk with his Slytherins, but his House contained a few staunch supporters of the Dark Lord, and he didn't want to talk to them with the newly christened Boy-Who-Lived in his he res knew . e that. . this could not be true, the Dark Lord could not be gone.

Shortly after Snape's flight from the staff room, a distinctly unpleasant smell began to emanate from the child. Snape had never changed a diaper before.

He fervently hoped that he would never have to do so again.

Once the child was clean and a fresh diaper had been procured, he realized that he didn't have a clue how to put the thing back on.

The child could not eat without making a mess. Or be left without constant supervision. He _could_ crawl surprisingly fast. He drooled.

He also smiled whenever Snape met his gaze, as if he was happy just to see the young professor and be with him. It was oddly…touching, in a way, although Snape was certain that the behavior was abnormal for a child, and worried about what could be causing it.

He took the opportunity to check the lightning-bolt cut on the child's forehead, but made little headway. He was certain the cut came from a curse – the extremely dark magical residue hidden within the injury confirmed that suspicion – but it didn't resemble anything he'd ever seen before, except for a Horcrux perhaps. But a Horcrux was an object, not a living being, and besides, the spell used to create such an artifact left no physical marks.

The boy didn't seem to be in pain, but just in case, he applied some essence of murtlap to Harry's forehead.

Harry smiled up at him joyfully.

* * *

Lily wanted to see Harry the moment she woke up. Instead, she was forced to listen to Madame Pomfrey's advice while the nurse scanned her carefully, "You could have died, you know. Remember that. Don't overtire yourself, drink plenty of fluids, and come back to me immediately if you start to feel even a little bit dizzy. We don't know exactly what caused your memory loss, so be careful for the next few days."

Finally, Severus arrived with Harry. Other revelations – she felt a sharp pain at the thought of James – had prevented her from wondering exactly why her former friend was here. Last Lily had heard, Severus Snape had gone and joined Voldemort. But that didn't explain what he was doing here at Hogwarts. Or why Dumbledore had left her son in his care.

Madame Pomfrey had informed Lily of that last fact with considerable disapproval. Obviously she didn't consider the young Potions Master a suitable caretaker. Frankly, Lily agreed. Severus had joined the side of evil. Lily didn't know how to talk to him anymore when he'd obviously rejected the Light. She'd once been so sure that he was a good person, deep down…

Severus studied the floor tiles as he awkwardly handed over Harry. He glanced briefly upward before stiffly muttering, "You alright?"

"I feel much better, thanks." There was a pause.

"Well then…that's good. I…I'm glad you're still alive." He darted for the door.

"Sev!" He stopped, finally meeting her eyes. She hadn't meant to call him by that name. "Umm, thanks for watching Harry for me. He seems to really like you." It was easy to see; Harry was positively beaming at the man.

He nodded sharply before turning tail and running.

* * *

**Disclaimer** I never read disclaimers. They're boring and repetitive. But apparently, you do.

**A/N** I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Young Snape in general is fun to write. He's much more awkard and unsure of himself than the man we all know. More twitchy too. And Lily and Harry each have a hilarious effect on him.

This chapter is dedicated to unnamed visitor. Because they've reviewed almost every chapter! That's an incredible feat! And I love those reviews...


	10. The Meeting

**The Meeting**

Snape didn't relax after leaving Lily. First, he needed to talk to his Slytherins, luckily _they _had more sense than most other students at the school. Some of McGonagall's students had managed to set their dormitory on fire. How they managed _that_ in a solid stone castle equipped with fire-proofing spells was a mystery to everyone.

Then he lurked in the school library for hours, looking for some kind of evidence verifying (or disproving) Dumbledore's theory about Voldemort's defeat. After the events of last night, he refused to blindly trust the Headmaster anymore.

Dinnertime came and passed. A sharp crack echoed from just behind him, and Snape spun about with one hand already on his wand, only to see a pair of enormous brown eyes and bat-like ears a few feet from the ground.

The house elf wordlessly handed him a small missive and vanished with another crack.

Confused, Snape carefully broke the letter's anonymous seal and read the contents.

_Meeting tonight. 11:00. The usual place._

Instead of a signature, a crude dark mark was drawn below the text. As Snape watched, the ink faded before vanishing into the page.

* * *

The inner circle of the Death Eaters met at Headquarters to compare notes and discuss what was to be done. No one had seen or heard from the Dark Lord for over twenty-four hours. This was not unusual for their master, but the disappearing Dark Marks were disquieting. And rumor had it that Voldemort had fallen.

Barty Crouch Jr. curled his lip as he looked about the room. There were an inordinate number of Death Eaters missing. Cowards.

Without the Dark Marks, it proved rather difficult to contact everyone. Many of the Death Eaters knew each other, but no one knew everybody else. Barty, the Lestranges, and Evan Rosier had spent the day sending messages via Winky to everyone they could think of.

And now, some of those _loyal_ followers had disappeared now that the Dark Lord's power seemed broken. It had stared with Lucius Malfoy. The man had taken one look at the morning news and rushed to the Ministry, claiming to have been Imperiused.

Clearly, some of the others had followed his lead.

Barty tried to figure out who was missing. Macnair, Yaxley, Rookwood, Karkaroff, Crabbe, Goyle, Travers, Gibbon, Snape, and of course, Malfoy himself.

Traitors, the lot of them. They were all-to-willing to fawn and offer their eternal loyalty, but at the first sign of trouble they disappeared.

A good ten minutes into their meeting, Snape stalked into the room.

Bellatrix gave him a nasty look. "You're late."

"Unlike you, I cannot merely apparate from my living quarters," the young man reminded her irritably. "Foreign though the concept may be to you, I actually try to exercise some degree of subtlety whenever I leave the castle. You see, I was under the impression that not being _discovered_ was a small price to pay for not being punctual. But, in the future, I'll be sure to be on time. Who cares if all of Hogwarts notices?"

Bellatrix "hmphed" and glowered once more for effect before turning back to everyone else. "As I was _saying_, our first priority should be to find the Dark Lord. He's sure to be around somewhere, the _Prophet's_ claim is simply ridiculous."

Nods were going around the room, although Nott spoke up, "That's all well and good, but how are we going to do that exactly? We haven't a clue where to find _him_."

In the past, if the Dark Lord had needed their presence, he had summoned them to him. On the rare occasion that they needed to communicate with him, they used the Dark Marks. No one knew how to contact him without the Marks.

Barty spoke up. "We'll search every nook and cranny, that's how we'll find _him_! And find him we will! We can start by interrogating the Potters."

"Yes!" cried Bellatrix with excitement. "Lily Potter is sure to know what happened to _him_! And besides, she and her son need to be killed anyway. People are saying that her little _boy_ defeated the Dark Lord! We'll show them that a mere child is nothing compared to _him_! After we've finished with the so-called," her voice became very scornful, "Boy-Who-Lived, no one will _dare_ to cross us again!"

Everyone agreed with her, although Rowle quietly pointed that that they needed to be cautious as they hunted the remaining Potters. "I'm sure it's occurred to somebody," they all knew he meant Dumbledore, although no one dared say it out loud, "that the Potters are still in danger and we don't want to be caught red-handed by the Aurors with the Dark Lord temporarily out of action."

Barty thought that was a cowardly statement. Unfortunately, most of the others seemed to agree.

"First of all," Lestrange plotted, "we need to know where the woman and the boy are located. Has anyone heard anything?"

"Hogwarts." Snape's voice sounded slightly hoarser than usual. "They are safe at Hogwarts."

Everyone groaned. No one wanted to mess with the Headmaster of Hogwarts, after all.

"That's alright, we can still capture them." Lestrange was confidant. "We're Slytherins, we can certainly come up with something cunning."

"And then…" Bellatrix was thrilled by the thought. "We find out where the Dark Lord is, and then," she smiled very creepily, "bye bye mummy and baby Potter."

In closing, they decided to meet in smaller groups to plan the Potters' capture. They'd also meet with the myriad lesser supporters of their master, and assure them that the Dark Lord was _not _gone no matter what the rumors might say.

Barty studied Severus Snape carefully as the meeting adjourned. Snape and Malfoy had always been close, and Barty was somewhat surprised to see the man here tonight after his cowardly mentor had run to for the Ministry. Barty smiled slightly. Some of the others might have followed Malfoy's lead and abandoned their Lord, but at least Snape was loyal! Empty black eyes suddenly locked onto him and Barty shivered slightly. Snape's gaze was downright creepy, the soulless eyes completely unreadable. Nervously looking away he pointedly studied the far wall instead. Yes, the man made an excellent Death Eater, Barty thought.

* * *

Contacting Dumbledore was proving to be ridiculously difficult. Snape sent his Patronus with the simple message, _We need to talk_, but the man didn't respond. Just in case, Snape sent an owl with a similar message then resigned himself to waiting for the Headmaster's response.

In the meantime he had plenty to do. He caught four students coming back from Hogsmeade loaded with firewhiskey on his way back from the meeting.

The next day, over half of his sixth and seventh years were involved in a brawl outside the History of Magic classroom. Apparently the fight started when one of his sixth years, frustrated by a particularly annoying classmate, goaded the Gryffindor (surprise, surprise) into attack mode. The other Slytherins quickly joined. Secretly, Snape was proud of them for presenting a united front, but he still needed to discipline them somehow.

The Slytherin Quidditch team was recovering in the Hospital Wing, having developed purple polka dots. Snape suspected the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but couldn't find any proof.

All of the students desperately needed something to keep them occupied, but classes were officially canceled until January. The students hadn't yet been sent home, and chaos was the inevitable result.

In the meantime, he desperately researched ways to keep Lily safe. To be honest, the Fidelius charm was still the best option available – he could be the Secret Keeper this time – but he still needed Lily's agreement, a secure location to hide her and Harry, and someone to perform the charm. Mostly, he needed to talk to Dumbledore, who had access to far more resources.

He was hunched over _The Art of Magical Deception_ in his office when a clear knock sounded from the door. One of his Slytherins no doubt, no other students ever dared approach him outside of class. "Come in," he called out calmly.

The door swung open and Lily Evans stepped inside, nervously fiddling with her hair. "Hey S…er, Professor Snape. Can we talk?"

* * *

**Disclaimer** In the interest of inter-species cooperation, today's disclaimer will be delivered in Gobbledegook. aioTeiow menJeiwKem ypckbmnxJ qpcmbntckrRtcmel xztzcTcnCtncm.

**A/N** 1) Even though 'Imperiusized' is a cool sounding word, I've replaced it with 'imperiused.'

2) This chapter isn't my favorite, but it advances the plot, so...

3) We _will_ be hearing from Sirius very soon, I haven't forgotten him. Just in case you care.

This chapter is dedicated to Andy Black Riddle.


	11. Altercations

Chapter 11

After a few moments of frozen shock, Snape nodded politely. "Miss Evans." Her eyes narrowed. "Er, I meant Mrs. Potter. You got married after all. I remember that." He firmly shut his mouth to stop the babbling.

After a few unspeakably awkward moments, Lily marched forward and took the seat across from his desk. "It's time we clarified a few things."

Deep down, Snape had to admit that he'd been avoiding her. They stopped being best friends years ago, and he knew he wouldn't be properly able to comfort her for the loss of James. It wasn't as if he could pretend to have liked the man. And any expressions of sorrow over James's death would likely not be believed by anyone.

"Where's Harry?" he blurted, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Asleep. I left him with Remus." At Snape's raised eyebrow, she continued. "He arrived last night. It's been a great comfort to have him with me."

So at least the werewolf was there for her. Not the ideal companion, but still better than Black. Marginally. "Well, that's good." Stupid, stupid Severus! He just couldn't think of anything to say…

"You weren't at supper last night. Or breakfast this morning. Or lunch."

"I've been busy." Normally, Dumbledore insisted that he take part in every meal, but the Headmaster was gone.

An elegant eyebrow arched. "Too busy to eat?"

"The house elves brought me something." An elf by the name of Miri had inexplicably adopted him about a month ago and she ensured that he ate regularly.

"Mmm." She ran her fingers though her hair again. He could sense her frustration at his responses and resolved to be more communicative. "I didn't know you were teaching here."

"I replaced Professor Slughorn."

She nodded carefully. "So the rumors about you were false."

"What rumors?"

"That you'd joined Voldemort. Dumbledore wouldn't have hired a Death Eater, so…" Snape flinched in shock at the name, although he felt nothing from his left arm.

Lily was studying his reactions. "Umm, well, you see…" Why did he stammer so much around her? Somehow he doubted that admitting to the truth of these rumors would go over well. On the other hand, he didn't think he could lie to her. Deciding that honesty was the best policy, he took a deep breath and looked at her straight in the eyes. "The rumors…were accurate."

She pulled back slightly, disgust flickering across her features briefly.

"I…I did join the Dark Lord." In retrospect of course, it wasn't the brightest decision he'd ever made.

"Then why would Professor Dumbledore to hire you?" She crossed her arms firmly across her chest.

Where to start? Really, the prophecy was the beginning. "I overheard the prophesy."

She interrupted, "The one about Harry?"

He nodded.

"What does it say? Dumbledore didn't tell us." Now her eyes were bright with excitement.

"He…he didn't?"

"He said it was about 'the one to defeat Voldemort,'" Snape flinched again and her eyes narrowed, "and that the exact contents were unimportant. But apparently _Voldemort_," she said the name quite pointedly and he tried not to flinch again, "targeted us because he thought it referred to our Harry. I've been wondering about the exact wording."

Snape told her. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies."

She stared thoughtfully at the desk for a few moments. "Was that all?"

"No, but it's all I heard." His throat suddenly felt very dry. "The Dark Lord doesn't know any more of it than I do."

There was a very long pause. The need to make a full confession was pressing. After all, he'd put her and her family in horrible danger. And she deserved to know the truth.

"I…I was the one who told the Dark Lord about the prophecy."

Another long pause. Then Lily cleared her throat. "Let me get this straight. You joined _Voldemort_, then overhead part of a prophecy about my son, and then crawled back to your _master_ to share it with him. Using that information, he began to hunt us down, forcing us to go into hiding. And _that_ is why James is _dead_ and Harry was nearly killed."

He felt sick. Everything she was saying was completely true after all.

She stood up abruptly. "I can't believe I ever saw anything good in you, _Snivellus._" Moments later she was out the door.

* * *

Snape felt an odd sense of relief, now that Lily knew the full truth. True, she hated him now, but at least she _knew._ The burden of guilt had been lessened. Slightly.

And it wasn't as if they could ever be friends again.

He'd long since accepted this, long since accepted the hopelessness of trying to regain what was forever lost. Now the important part was merely ensuring she remained relatively happy and healthy. He could do that from a distance.

And he had other friends. Of course, he'd betrayed them all when he'd gone to Dumbledore to save Lily. He buried his head in his arms, trying to think of a friend that he _hadn't_ betrayed at some point. He couldn't. Feeling nauseous, he tried to focus on the book again.

Supper time came and went. Miri arrived with a helping of steak and kidney pie and forced him to eat it. She was shockingly bossy for a house elf, "Master needs to eat now, and his mind will be clearer for it." Folding her little arms she watched every mouthful.

Knowing from experience that if she was ordered to leave, she would likely burst into tears, start banging her head against the wall, and chant something along the lines of "Bad bad Miri! Is being a bad elf!" – without actually leaving – he dutifully swallowed just enough to satisfy the little tyrant. He reflected that while the house elves were supposedly servants, Miri won every argument with him simply because he always gave in once she started punishing herself. Scowling, he forced another mouthful down his throat. He didn't remember any of the Malfoy elves behaving in such a manner. Nor had he heard any of the staff at Hogwarts complaining about _their_ assigned elves. Only _he_ had ended up with the crazy one.

Finally he dropped the fork and glared, daring her to force him to eat another bite. Philosophically, she picked up the plate and smiled cheerfully.

"Tha's a good master, that is." She sounded like she was praising a performing poodle. "An' Miri put nice silky sheets on Master's bed so's you can sleep tonight. Master needs his sleep or Master is going to collapse."

"You WHAT?" With a cheerful grin and a crack, Miri disappeared leaving Snape to glare at the spot she'd just vacated. If she'd actually replaced his sheets, he'd chop her up for potions ingredients.

* * *

Another knock sounded shortly after Miri's departure. It was Professor McGonagall this time, hands firmly planted on her hips.

"Severus Snape! The Headmaster's absence is NOT an excuse for you to ignore his wishes. You _know_ he wants all the staff members present for most meals." Dumbledore had made an exception for Trelawney after she'd started loudly predicting the gory deaths of various students over her mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, he still insisted that all Heads of Houses, including Snape, come to each meal and remain for at least twenty minutes.

"And Merlin, if the rest of us can manage it, so can you! I don't care how important your research, or whatever it is you're doing down here, is!"

He felt like a schoolboy again. Instead of answering, he settled for watching her with a blank expression, having learned at an early age that this tended to unnerve people.

She merely pinched her lips tightly together. "I fully expect to see you in the Great Hall tomorrow morning at breakfast."

"Yes ma'am," he mumbled sulkily.

"Fine. There is something else I wished to discuss with you." He quirked an eyebrow.

"I heard about the fight yesterday."

"So?"

"So does the concept of justice mean nothing to you? Did it ever occur to you that your punishment might have been a _little_ unfair?"

"Really, Minerva, I haven't a clue what you are blathering about." Even though he still called her Professor McGonagall inside his head, he was slowly adjusting to Dumbledore's first name policy.

"Your students started a fight…"

"Now really, your little lion attacked first."

"He was provoked!"

"By mere words. The brat should have controlled his temper better, and he certainly deserved far worse than a mere detention with Filch."

"But thirty points from Gryffindor! And not a single point taken from your own house, I noticed."

"My students will be punished." He was immensely proud of them for sticking together, and planned to teach them to use Levicorpus during their "detention," a spell which would prove helpful to them in future altercations with Gryffindor House. Of course, the boy who goaded the Gryffindor had five hundred lines too. _I must not aggravate peaheaded morons who are too thick-witted to be expected to control their tempers._

"But I see no point in deliberately reducing my chances at winning the House Cup."

"Some of us," McGonagall gritted out, "being more honorable than that, like to try to win the cup _fairly._"

Snape smirked at her. "Please do so. It improves my chances of winning."

With a huff, she stalked out.

* * *

**Disclaimer** I have never owned a country, a continant, an ocean, or _Harry Potter_.

**A/N** Well the talk with Lily didn't go too well. As much as I'd like to, I can't really blame Lily, she'd just lost the man she loved, she was secretly hoping to hear that her childhood best friend was actually a good guy, and he proceeded to admit that he's responsible for all the awful things that had happened.

Please note that, on average, the chapters are slowly becoming longer. Thank-you.

This chapter is dedicted to the flaming ReViEwEr for offering some helpful criticism. All reviews will be appreciated, any speculations or questions will be answered, flames will be mocked, and constructive criticism will be adored. Seriously. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors, any gaping plot holes (they exist, I just try not to draw attention to them), any over-the-top OOCness, or if anything else is really irritating you, please share it with me! Part of the whole point of writing this story is to (hopefully, although I may be too optimistic here) improve my (admittedly questionable) writing skills, and criticism really helps with that! You can't hurt my feelings.


	12. Sirius News

Chapter 12

The next morning, Lily was at the far end of the staff table watching Harry make an enormous mess out of his breakfast when Severus swept into the Great Hall looking like nothing so much as a particularly malevolent, overgrown bat. She gnawed the inside of her lip worriedly. Yesterday, she'd been horrified to learn that he had set Voldemort on her and her family. But now, she couldn't help but wonder if she had missed something. Surly Professor Dumbledore wouldn't deliberately hire anyone that might prove a danger to the school.

Severus had never explained exactly how he'd convinced the canny old wizard to hire him. And this knowledge gap left Lily feeling unsettled. She didn't want to confront Severus again – and she was still absolutely furious by what he'd done to her family. But she doubted that she'd have the full story until she knew why Dumbledore seemed to think Severus was perfectly safe around children, around _Harry_.

She'd already questioned the staff, but none of them could tell her anything. Apparently, they'd had their own misgivings about the new Potions Master, but Dumbledore had announced that the young man was trustworthy and that was that.

"Ba' Man!" cried Harry happily. Lily smiled indulgently at him. He was pointing straight at Severus.

"Ba' Man!"

Was he actually trying to say, "Bat man?" Harry giggled and pointed again. "Is that bat man?" Harry responded in the affirmative.

Lily couldn't help but laugh. Bat man indeed… "No, that's Severus." Harry stared at her in confusion. A shorter name would be easier for him to remember. "Sev."

With no more than a glance in her general direction, Severus stiffly seated himself at the far end of the table, nodded at a few of his Slytherins and proceeded to ignore everyone else.

Leaning as far forward as possible, Harry studied him for a few moments before saying, "Sev," quite clearly. Lily smiled at him again.

"I must say, that boy is one of the most good natured toddlers I've ever encountered," McGonagall commented from Harry's other side.

"Yes, he's a little angel. Oh look, the mail's arrived. I wonder if there's any news." Yesterday the headlines had been filled with news about Voldemort's mysterious defeat, Lily and Harry, and Lucius Malfoy's return from the Imperius curse.

This morning, the paper did contain news.

* * *

**Sirius Black Apprehended**

**Murders Wizard, Twelve Muggles**

Yesterday afternoon, Magical Law enforcement tracked down and captured the Potter's betrayer on a Muggle street in London. He didn't go quietly, however. The murder of his one-time best friend James Potter was clearly not enough for Sirius Black; he managed to hunt down and kill Peter Pettigrew, another close former friend, along with twelve innocent Muggles for good measure.

Black has been sentenced to a lifetime of imprisonment in Azkaban.

"He's always been a powerful wizard," says Diddles Dalesbury, "One of the biggest bullies around. Everyone was terrified of him in school, scared he'd target them next."

As a schoolboy, Black could often be found in the company of James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. He later chose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named over his friends, although he masterfully pretended to be loyal to them.

"I could have sworn he _hated_ dark magic. Especially the Death Eaters," sobs Molly Weasley. "He fooled us all."

Black even managed to fool his closest friends, somehow managing become the Potters Secret-Keeper. Without remorse, he proceeded to give the happy family over to his dark master on a silver platter.

When the Boy-Who-Lived defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Black was horrified. Furious, he proceeded to hunt down another former friend, Peter Pettigrew. "Peter was a mousy little thing, didn't stand a chance against a top Death Eater like Black," mourns Dalesbury. Black's attack was so vicious that nothing more than Pettigrew's finger has been found. No less than twelve innocent Muggles died as well, for the crime of standing in Black's vicinity.

At this moment, Black had been safely locked in Azkaban. "Sirius Black was one of You-Know-Who's most loyal followers," says Minister Bagnold. "I'm glad to say that he no longer poses a threat to the people of Great Britain. At least Black wasn't able to get to Lily and Harry Potter at Hogwarts."

* * *

Snape had known that the _Prophet_ wasn't always the most unbiased source of news, but this was blatantly wrong. Obviously, they hadn't bothered to do their research correctly. He carefully glanced up the table toward Lily, waiting for the outrage to spark.

But she didn't seem outraged. Just…sad. A little horrified. But there was no fury on Black's behalf. She shoved her plate away and began to trudge out of the Hall.

"Mrs. Potter," McGonagall gave Lily a sympathetic look. "I can take Harry for a few hours, if you'd like."

"That's alright, Professor. I've got him."

"Mrs. Potter." McGonagall stopped her. "It's no trouble. Really."

After a moment's hesitation, Lily smiled back softly. "Thank-you."

Snape didn't understand. Lily should be furious, demanding that Black be released. She knew he was innocent, didn't she?

Standing up quickly, he made for the dungeons. Professor McGonagall caught him before he'd gone five steps.

"Oh Severus." He stopped and turned rather coldly. "Would you watch little Harry until Lily is ready to take him back." It wasn't a question.

"I was under the impression that you had volunteered for the task."

"At the moment, I'm under rather a lot of pressure, Severus. On top of my regular duties as Head of Gryffindor, I'm currently acting Headmistress, and I'm working closely with the Ministry and…Dumbledore to sort out various political matters." Snape knew she was likely performing tasks for the Order of the Phoenix. "I can hardly be expected to babysit a toddler on top of everything else."

"Sev!" said Harry happily. He ignored the little monster's manipulations.

"Oh really, I must have misheard then. I thought you said that it was no trouble?" He couldn't believe her audacity. Moments before, she'd all but promised to watch over the boy!

"I was showing Mrs. Potter _kindness_, a concept you seem to have no grasp of," snapped McGonagall irritably. "For some reason I can't fathom, Harry seems to like you, and you can care for him far more adequately than I. You certainly managed just fine two days ago."

"I am not a babysitter," he began, but she shoved the grinning toddler into his arms. Desperately trying, and failing, to keep the little brat's dirty little hands and face away from his robes, Snape lost his train of thought.

With a tone that brooked no argument she added, "He's all yours now," and was gone before he could utter a single protest.

He tried to follow, but was distracted as Harry grabbed his robes with grimy fingers. At the same time, the arrival of a pair of owls impeded his progress.

The messages were from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Professor Dumbledore respectively. The Ministry wanted him to come to court for an official hearing on November 10th. The Headmaster wanted to meet with him, _finally_, in fifteen minutes.

* * *

"Oh hello Severus. You're early. And I see you've brought a friend."

The boy glanced about the office cheerfully while the young man leveled a poisonous glare at him. "Professor McGonagall saddled me with the little monster, Headmaster. Personally, I consider it a gross misuse of authority on her part."

"Minerva, my boy."

"Fine. Minerva promised to watch over the boy than delegated the task to me." Dumbledore twinkled at him. "And now I need to find someone else to care for him before Lily kills me."

"I'm sure she's delighted that her son is in such capable hands."

"No. She hates me." Carefully, Snape placed Harry on the floor where he could explore.

"You don't mean that."

"Yes I do mean that, Albus! I told her how the Dark Lord knew of the Prophesy."

"But she also knows why you switched sides." The young Slytherin looked scandalized.

"Then I declared my undying love for her and asked for her hand in marriage," he snarled. "Of course she doesn't know why I switched sides!" He snatched up little Harry, who had been about to pick up one of Dumbledore's delicate instruments, and distracted the child with a quill.

"I see," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. He still didn't quite understand this young man in front of him. So passionate, yet so secretive. He suspected that Severus may not have told him everything about Halloween night at Godric's Hollow, mainly because Lily's memory loss seemed a little bit too convenient. Despite his suspicions, Dumbledore knew he could trust Severus with Lily's life, and watching him interact with Harry, Dumbledore realized that the young man could also be trusted with her son's.

They went on to discuss the very real threat presented by the Death Eaters, eventually concluding that the Potters would be safest remaining at Hogwarts for the moment. The school's formidable wards would prevent a direct attempt on either of their lives so long as they both stayed within its boundaries.

Then the matter of Sirius Black came up.

"I would like to apologize for failing to take Sirius's antics seriously at school," Dumbledore kindly offered the Potions Master a lemon sherbet. "I had such high hopes for him."

Instead of looking vindicated, as Dumbledore had expected, Severus merely looked slightly concerned.

"Pro…Albus, he wasn't the Potter's Secret Keeper." Dumbledore hadn't been expecting that response! "Pettigrew told me where to find them, not Black." Severus quickly rescued an important-looking piece of parchment from Harry's mouth.

"My boy, are you sure about that? I happen to know that James specifically wanted Sirius."

"Why would I be sure about that? After all, Black and Pettigrew just look so alike." Severus lunged for Harry yet again. Dumbledore's office was not even remotely child-proofed.

"Maybe he was Polyjuiced." Or maybe, you're defending a fellow Death Eater out of some kind of misplaced loyalty.

"It was Pettigrew," snapped Severus firmly.

"You can't be sure of that, my boy. In any case, he _did _murder twelve Muggles and his former friend. He's been sentenced to Azkaban."

"But he didn't betray the Potters. Shouldn't Lily know that?" Behind his glasses, Dumbledore suddenly wondered if Lily had been Obliviated just so that she couldn't remember who the real Secret Keeper had been.

"Severus. I confess I never expected to see _you_ defending him. But there's nothing I can do for him, Sirius has made his choice as you have make yours."

The young man's black eyes bored into his own for several seconds. Then they landed back onto Harry. "Very well, Headmaster."

"Excellent! Now, most of the students are scheduled to leave in two days' time. Once they are gone, I'd like you to go home for a week or so."

"You'd like me to leave the school, leaving Lily and her son to _your_ loving care? After that worked out so well last time?"

"Well, I think a week's reflection would do you some good. It would give sufficient reason for the remaining Death Eaters to delay their attack." They might be persuaded to wait a week for Severus to return to Hogwarts. And this extra time would give Magical Law Enforcement a chance to catch up with them as well as give Dumbledore and the Order a chance to prepare for them.

Clearly Severus understood these reasons too, for he nodded thoughtfully.

Dumbledore smiled to himself as he watched them leave. The cheerful boy provided an amusing contrast to the dour man.

Later, he would need to speak to Lily Potter.

* * *

**Disclaimer **The birds are singing, the snow is melting, spring is coming, and I still don't own _Harry Potter._

**A/N **The chapters are just getting longer and longer! Poor Sirius. Even _Dumbledore_ thinks he betrayed his friends! If you were Snape, would you try to help him, or leave him to rot in prison?

This chapter is dedicated to SiriusBlackLivesOn, for providing the motivation for me to actually write this down!


	13. Hide-and-Seek

Chapter 13

Snape didn't know exactly what Lily would do if she realized her son was currently in his care, and he didn't care to find out.

Maybe the werewolf would take the little brat. He'd been the most responsible of the Marauders at school after all. Plus, he had reason to like Harry and dislike Snape; no doubt he'd be all too eager to remove the boy from Snape's greasy clutches.

Besides, the Remus Lupin he knew was loyal to a fault. At least he would jump to Black's defense. And after hearing the normally loyal Lily and lenient Dumbledore practically abandon the man, Snape needed to hear that at least the entire world hadn't gone insane.

Finding Lupin turned out to be more difficult than anticipated, especially because Snape was also trying to avoid accidentally meeting Lily. He was carrying Harry on his shoulders, protected by a simple Sticking Charm along with a Cushioning Charm for good measure. At least the boy seems to be enjoying the tour of the castle, if his giggles and happy chattering were anything to judge by.

Finally, he caught a glimpse of the werewolf out on the grounds and rushed outside before Lupin could disappear again. Harry laughed gleefully all the way. "Whee!"

He was nearly there when he caught sight of a familiar head of red hair moving in Lupin's direction as well.

She was going to see him! He glanced about, desperate for a way to hide.

"More Sev!" Harry cried, wanting him to run again.

Thinking quickly, Snape disillusioned himself then Harry, cast Muffliato over them both, and waited for Lily to leave.

Instead of leaving, however, she and the werewolf began walking towards Snape's hiding place. Frantically, he examined the trees. Once, he'd been an excellent climber. The task proved much more difficult with a one year old on his shoulders, but with a little magic he managed to make his way onto a sturdy looking branch about two and a half meters off the ground.

"Mama," Harry informed him. He was grateful for his foresight in using the muffling spell, although he gently tried to shush the child.

They voices could be clearly heard as they approached.

"I really thought he was our friend." Lily sounded more than a little upset. "He and James were always so close…we never imagined that _he_ was the traitor."

"He fooled all of us, Lily." There was a short silence as the pair stopped a mere ten feet from Snape and Harry. The child was clearly pleased to see his mother and Lupin; he kept giggling softly for no reason Snape could determine. The tittering effectively ruined the somber mood of the conversation for Snape.

"But then again, we should have realized it a long time ago. Sirius was always more extreme than the rest of us. He was even willing to _kill_ a classmate back in sixth year."

Apparently the werewolf was _not_ about to defend Black then. Snape couldn't deny feeling a sense of vindication…but somehow it wasn't as sweet as he would have imagined. Really, he wished that _someone_ would stand up and defend Black, because than he wouldn't have to pity the madman. Black might be insane and a murderer, but he wasn't a traitor.

I mean, he tried to…" Lupin suddenly stopped.

"Tried to what, Remus?

The werewolf studied her pensively for a few moments before slowly nodding to himself. "I don't think James ever told you, but Sirius once tried to off…" He paused, suddenly suspicious, and slowly turned towards Snape, nostrils flared.

Uh oh. Snape suddenly remembered that werewolves had an excellent sense of smell, even while in human form. And the creature was standing directly downwind of him.

"Finite Incantatem!" There was no time to respond. Forgetting he was in a tree, Snape tried, unsuccessfully to duck and fell off the branch. Trying to keep Harry secure, he landed flat on his back with the boy on his stomach. Rolling quickly to his feet and clutching the boy reflexively, he lurched to his feet and faced the two Gryffindors.

"Su'pwise!" cried Harry, completely incongruously. Snape tried to appear innocent. Judging by their faces, he wasn't succeeding. He didn't want to face either of them; Lily was rightfully angry at him, and the werewolf was simply terrifying. He still had regular nightmares about the toothy beast…no, now was _not_ the time to think of such things. Lupin was human right now. Perfectly harmless. Relatively speaking.

"_What_ in Merlin's name do _you_ think you're doing here?" Lily had found her voice. She strode towards him, furious and protective of Harry.

Feeling caught between a mother hippogriff and her fledging, he simply stumbled backwards in response.

"And what are you doing with my _son!?_"

"Well, you see…"

"Give him back _now_." He tried to hand the boy over; he truly did. But Harry had somehow gotten an excellent grip on a few loose locks of his hair, and refused to release them.

"Let go of him!" Lily snapped, eyes flashing, fiery hair practically crackling with energy. Really, some part of Snape's mind noted, why did he worry about her at all? If she were locked in a room with the remaining Death Eaters, those Death Eaters wouldn't stand a chance. She was terrifying. And absolutely breathtaking.

The werewolf flanked her, amber eyes gleaming with protectiveness for the child. Snape continued to back up, still trying to disentangle the child. He tripped over a tree root and fell backwards again.

Luckily Harry landed safely on his chest. Luckily for Harry that is. Snape was going to have bruises.

At least the little monster had released his hair for the moment. He quickly handed the boy over before the brat could regain his handhold or the mother could begin using physical force.

Clutching Harry to her chest, Lily pointed her wand directly between his eyes. He tried using diplomacy.

"There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this," he blurted, trying to think of one. He mind was blank.

"Oh really? Because it _looks_ like you were trying to sneak Harry out of the castle to me. Or maybe you were _spying_ on us."

"Or both." Apparently, Lupin had decided to slip his two cents in at this point.

"No, I…Of course not!" Not even the Dark Lord could make him this flustered.

"Then what were you doing?" He couldn't think of anything to say; he suspected that looking at her wand tip was making him cross-eyed. But looking at her face would likely leave him looking dazzled.

"You were trying to kidnap Harry," stated Lupin. That was simply ridiculous. The castle wards wouldn't allow such a thing. But your average Gryffindor on a rampage didn't usually worry about little things like facts.

At least Lily seemed to realize that he couldn't possibly be stealing her son away. "What _were_ you doing with Harry?"

"Pro...Minerva asked me to watch him for you." There. He'd finally managed a fairly articulate sentence.

"How stupid to you think we are?" demanded the werewolf. Snape resisted the urge to answer the question with complete honesty. "She wouldn't have left _Harry Potter_ with a certified dark wizard! And a Death Eater too – we heard about that, you know!"

It was far easier to respond to Lupin than Lily. Snape sneered back. "A dark wizard? _You_'re one to talk about _dark_ creatures."

Predictably, the werewolf flushed. "_I_ hate Dark Magic! And _I_ have never gone fawning after You-Know-Who either!" Gryffindors. It was child's play to put _them_ on the defensive. Of course, not all Gryffindors were idiots, and Lily seemed to have realized that this conversation was going nowhere.

"Enough! We'll be talking to the Headmaster about this. And if I catch you anywhere _near_ Harry again I will hex you into next week." Grabbing Lupin by the arm she took two steps before spinning around again. "_And_ if you eavesdrop on me or Remus, we _will_ make sure you regret it." With that final threat, she marched off, dragging the furious werewolf behind her.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore considered his options carefully. He'd finally decided that it wouldn't be wise to share his suspicions about young Severus Snape with Lily Potter. He didn't completely trust the young Slytherin; after all, the boy was a self-confessed Death Eater and knowledgeable with various Dark spells.

Generally, Slytherins weren't particularly trustworthy unless you knew exactly what they wanted. Albus was certain that his young spy cared deeply for Lily and would do anything to keep her safe. The boy would even turn against his former master to achieve that end.

On the other hand, Severus was probably still friends with many of Voldemort's other followers. So long as they didn't directly threaten Lily, he'd likely try to help them, even if they were harming innocents.

For example, Sirius Black had left Lily and Harry alive at Godric's Hollow. And Severus was already trying to defend him, despite the irrefutable proof against him. Albus didn't know what had transpired Halloween night, but he suspected that a memory charm had been used on Lily.

At least most of the dangerous Death Eaters were focused on Lily and Harry for the moment. So long as they continued to do that, Severus's loyalty would remain with Albus and the Light. And it was imperative that Severus remain loyal to Albus. Because Voldemort would eventually return, and Albus would need a powerful wizard prepared to defend Lily, and by extension Harry, with his very life.

But it might not remain loyal if Lily drove him away. He wouldn't deliberately harm her; it would be best if she befriended the prickly young Slytherin again. That way, Severus's loyalty would be solidified, and he would be in a better position to defend her and Harry. The solution was perfect for everyone involved.

* * *

**Disclaimer** I do not own _Harry Potter_. See, I can write normal disclaimers.

**A/N** Obviously, I'm assuming that wizards do not break bones nearly as easily as Muggles. Don't ever land on your back from several meters in the air while holding a 15-month-old. In fact, don't ever climb a tree while holding a 15-month-old. Unless you and the child are wizards. In which case it's still not a good idea.

This chapter is dedicated to Saramagician. Because she's to blame for most of it. I really enjoyed writing it though.


	14. New Developments

Chapter 14

"I need to speak to the Headmaster, please."

"It's really important. I'm sure he'd rather you simply let me in."

"His passwords were always some sweet, right? Lemon sherbet? Umm, sugar quill? Pumpkin Pasties? Chocolate frogs?"

"Just let me in, you warty old toad!"

"I apologize. I didn't really mean that. It's just that I _really_ need to speak to the Headmaster at the moment."

The ugly gargoyle guarding entrance to the Headmaster's office refused to budge. Lily sighed and was beginning to turn away in defeat when the thing creaked and moved aside, revealing Professor Dumbledore.

"Ah, Lily. You have not been waiting long, I trust?"

"Not too long. I need to speak to you immediately, Professor."

"Well then, come on in. I have always had a taste for Jelly Slugs, and there is a fresh tin waiting for us upstairs."

After carrying Harry into the office, seating herself, and politely accepting a Jelly Slug she folded her hands over one knee, realizing that she didn't know quite where to start. Polite trivialities seemed as good a place as any.

"I hope I'm not imposing…"

"Ah, no child, I was merely planning to greet a few Ministry officials at the front gates, but they can wait. The Ministry is always concerned with some tedious affair or another, and you are providing an excellent excuse to avoid them for the moment."

She smiled back at him tentatively.

"Well, I…I just…I found Severus Snape sneaking around with Harry, and it was all very suspicious, but I was wondering why you would've hired him because the while Order knows he's You-Know-Who's servant, Alice _saw_ him with the others, and he's _dangerous_ and I don't understand why you would let him in the school or why he would _want_ to teach and I can't believe that Sirius betrayed us, I could have sworn he was our friend, he practically adored James, but now I'm remembering how cruel he could be, and I can't believe we all dismissed it, and I can't believe James is gone, and I can't even remember our last week together or anything!"

"I can't even remember where we were hiding because of the Fidelius Charm! And he's _gone_!"

Lily realized that tears were starting to drip down her face. She hadn't had a good cry since waking up in the Hospital Wing to learn that life as she knew it was over. And now all her hurts and fears and insecurities were finally coming out. It felt good to release it all, and the Headmaster was an excellent listener. Gently he walked behind her chair and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"And poor Peter! Why oh why didn't we think to bring him here where he'd be safe! But now he's dead, like James, and I should be dead too, but I'm not and I don't know why and James is _gone_, and it's all Sev's fault and how _could_ you have him here and…"

She kept going for a long time.

* * *

Snape caught several of McGonagall's students charming suits of armor to insult anyone who walked past. Thirty points from Gryffindor later, he left a trail of sullen students behind him only to run back into Remus Lupin. _Figures he would show up _now _that I don't need him_.

The sandy-haired man folded his arms firmly across his chest, clearly steeling himself up for a confrontation.

Without breaking stride, Snape swept past him.

"Hey wait! Snape!" The werewolf clearly hadn't anticipated this response. Snape smirked, but didn't slow down in the slightest, forcing the other man to come to him and match his pace. It made the following ultimatum even less intimidating than it might have otherwise been.

"I just wanted you to know, Harry is like a nephew to me. And if you hurt him, I'll…I'll make you regret it." Proper threats or intimidation of any kind was clearly not the gentle man's forte, noted Snape.

"And I'm shaking in my boots. Two minutes ago I was plotting all kinds of nefarious harm to the brat, but I've changed my mind now. I wouldn't dare to risk your _terrifying_ retribution." Predictably, Lupin flushed again. _He should know better than to confront me without the rest of his gang. Not that they're much of a gang anymore…_

"Well I just wanted you to know," Lupin's next meaningless threat was interrupted by Professor McGonagall.

"Severus! These men were looking for you." She was accompanied by several members of Magical Law Enforcement. A man with auburn hair and sharp blue eyes stepped forward.

"Severus Snape, you are under arrest for aiding and abetting He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Surrender your wand." All three of the Aurors directed their own wands in his direction.

Drawing himself up, he tried to look intimidating. "Does the Headmaster know about this?"

"He's apparently too busy for you right now." Snape took that as a no. "Surrender your wand _now._"

Both Lupin and McGonagall watched silently.

* * *

Eventually, Lily quieted down. The entire time, little Harry hadn't moved from her side, bright green eyes never straying from her face. Somehow, as always, he managed to make her feel better. And Dumbledore's very presence was comforting, listening and allowing her to vent.

Now they sat in companionable silence. Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat and offered her another Jelly Slug.

"I'm good, thank-you." Her throat felt a little bit raw. "And thanks for listening. I feel like such a crybaby sometimes."

"You are a very strong person, Lily." His eyes twinkled kindly at her from behind his glasses. "Never forget that."

"I just…it's just hard to wake up and expect to see J-James and realize that he's…" She didn't finish her sentence. "And then there's Sirius, and Peter, and Sev shows up out of nowhere, and it feels like the world has turned upside down."

"And you are handling it marvelously, my dear girl." She nodded politely, keeping a watchful eye on Harry.

"Now, I believe you were wondering about Professor Snape, is that right?" Another nod.

"You believe him dangerous to the children?"

She blushed. Of course, the boy she'd once known had quite safe unless provoked, but he'd changed a lot since then. "Well, I don't know. Maybe. He's a known supporter of Voldemort anyways."

"But is he dangerous?"

"Most all of Voldemort's followers are dangerous, Professor." She was confused by this line of questioning.

"What if I told you that he is also an unofficial member of the Order of the Phoenix?" What!?

She jumped up and grabbed Harry before he could touch one of Dumbledore's spindly instruments, precariously hanging within the boy's reach, and distracted her son with a few toys.

Her face must have been a sight, because the old wizard's eyes twinkled with definite amusement. "I am completely serious," he answered her unasked question. "He's been an invaluable source of information."

"A spy?"

"Clever girl!" She couldn't contain her shock. When she'd first heard confirmation that her former friend had actually joined the Death Eaters, she'd been furious. Angry at him for joining a terrorist organization, and angry at herself for caring. He wasn't the same person she'd befriended all those years ago, his actions had proved that, but she just couldn't stop caring completely. And now…had she been wrong about him?

"I thought he'd actually joined."

"In the beginning, I believe he did. But at some point along the road, he realized his mistake, and began to work for me."

"He told me that he was the one who gave that silly prophecy to Voldemort."

"I believe he was. Obviously, it never occurred to him that it might be referring to you. I don't think he considered the full ramifications of sharing it with Voldemort at all, actually. Later he was horrified to realize that your family was in danger because of it. In fact, he was the first one to warn me of that threat."

Still digesting this new information, she was silent for a few moments before another question occurred to her. "So why didn't we know?" I certainly wish someone had told _me._

Blue eyes twinkled gently. "A spy's work is very dangerous, Lily. He is far safer if no one knows about his work for the Order. And on that note, I must ask you not to share his role in this war casually. In fact, it might be wisest not to share it at all."

"But, Voldemort is gone. Isn't he?"

"For the moment, yes he is gone. But, his followers are not, which is why you must not leave Hogwarts just yet."

Once again, her world had been turned on its axis. It wasn't a bad development this time, but she still felt lost and confused. And guilt was starting to move in as well. She'd actually _threatened_ the poor man this morning. Of course, he'd been sneaking around with Harry…

"Professor, I found Sev with Harry this morning."

"Yes. Minerva asked Severus to watch Harry for her."

"Oh." The guilty feeling was growing more pronounced by the second.

"Ah, and one more thing before you go." Reaching into his desk, the Headmaster pulled out a carefully folded length of silvery material. "I believe this is yours."

It was James's invisibility cloak. Suddenly feeling even more overwhelmed, she took the cloak, choked out her thanks, picked up Harry, and walked down the stairs along with Professor Dumbledore.

They met Professor McGonagall by the gargoyle. "Ah Minerva," Dumbledore beamed at her, "have the Ministry officials left already?" She nodded. "No doubt you dealt with them admirably. What did they want?"

She looked anxious. "Albus, they arrested Severus Snape!"

* * *

**Disclaimer** Of course I own _Harry Potter_. And my entire house is made completely out of gingerbread. Except the roofing tiles - those are icing. And the windows are made of spun sugar. I only wish the neighbors would stop trying to eat it whenever I'm away.

**A/N** Can you imagine if they put Snape in a cell beside Black's? I should have done real work tonight, but all your lovely reviews pushed this chapter forward a few days instead. Those reviews make my day! And more importantly (for you) they make this story happen!

This chapter is dedicated to Lon Wolfgood.


	15. The Dementor

**The Dementor**

Hoping his terror didn't show on his face, Snape stared up at the Aurors. Their cruelty towards Death Eaters was legendary, at least among said Death Eaters, and their raw hatred was palpable in the air. He tried not to remember the horror stories, but they kept floating to the surface of his mind. They'd tortured Edward Selwynn until he'd lost his mind, and they'd probably murdered Regulus Black. Snape forced a deep breath. Those were mere stories passed among the Death Eaters; it was probable that they weren't even true. Just wild rumors really. Based off reality perhaps but wildly exaggerated nonetheless. For example, maybe Edward had gone mad because of the Azkaban dementors. Of course, if the Aurors were willing to give a man to the dementors, they'd have no qualms at mere torture. Snape suppressed yet another shudder. Time to move on. Regulus was always a strange fellow, maybe he'd run off somewhere. Without informing anyone. Including his family.

This line of reasoning wasn't comforting at all. Neither were the men who had roughly half-dragged him into this whitewashed little room. Again, he tried to remind himself that the stories were undoubtedly exaggerated. Except he couldn't help remembering the _Daily Prophet's_ announcement that Aurors were now permitted to use Unforgivables against "dark wizards." That meant no holds barred. And looking at the sheer hatred in their eyes, he believed them capable of anything.

"Well, well, we've got you now, little Death Eater," hissed one of the men. He had a shock of shoulder length tawny hair and yellow eyes that reminded Snape of some kind of predator. He jumped as the man suddenly reached forward to yank Snape's left sleeve back, exposing his forearm.

They both looked disappointed. "Ah then," the Auror whispered, "not quite so high-ranking then. But, we already know about your true loyalties boy! You might have fooled Dumbledore, but we all know better here."

Keeping his face expressionless, Snape stared unblinkingly back. Didn't they know that the Dark Marks had disappeared? Apparently not. _And the Ministry strikes again! You thought they'd actually _know_ about events from four days ago? Ha! Our great government takes at _least _six months to finish processing such detailed information. They probably have yet to realize that the Dark Lord is no longer in power!_

"And now, you're going to tell us about your little _friends_. You're going to give us all the names we want, or…" The predatory wizard drew his finger across his throat sharply. Snape swallowed hard.

"Time for some veritaserum." The blue eyed Auror finally spoke up.

"Rufus, he's a Potion's Master, remember? I can guarantee he's taken some dolaserum within the past week." As a matter of fact, Snape hadn't. But, he had no intention of letting them know that.

"Lucky we have other ways of making this scum talk then, isn't it?"

Snape realized his hands were trembling.

* * *

Lily had always known Dumbledore as a kindly, grandfatherly sort of man. But, the reason Voldemort feared him became very clear after Professor McGonagall's words. Shortly afterwards, he'd left for the Ministry; she didn't doubt that he'd find a way to free Sev.

So now, she considered everything she'd learned as she watched Harry crawl around an empty classroom; this time she'd refused Professor McGonagall's offer to watch her son. The little boy seemed to recognize that something was wrong, for his normally cheery smiles were far less frequent than usual, and he stayed close to her.

Once, she'd actually known Sev. His habits, his mannerisms, his hopes, his talents, his home life. But, somehow that had changed. He'd been fascinated by power, enticed by dark magic. And bit by bit, it had pulled them apart. His other friends were downright creepy; they actually enjoyed causing pain. Lily hated them for destroying her best friend and replacing him with…someone else.

She'd seen it happening, but Sev had always made excuses for them. And she'd made excuses for him too. But eventually, it all had to come to a head. She'd cried for ages when she finally realized that those excuses were just that, excuses. Her friend was long gone, she'd lost him to those despicable pureblood elitists and to his lust for power.

Even knowing that she'd lost him, she'd still been immensely disappointed to hear that he'd actually joined Voldemort.

And now, everything had changed again.

He'd been on Dumbledore's side. He'd faced incredible danger for the Order. And that meant that he hadn't gone completely over to the Dark.

But she'd given up on him. And even worse than that…the events of the past few days replayed themselves in her head.

Never one to brood much, that had always been Sev's forte, Lily stood up straight. It was time to fix a few mistakes.

Decision reached, she relaxed again and enjoyed the afternoon sunlight streaming in through the window, quietly remembering James.

* * *

He had no intention of giving these men any names. He'd already betrayed his former acquaintances once, by joining Dumbledore. He wasn't going to betray them to the Aurors as well.

The door opened, admitting a woman followed by a silvery ox. And behind them…a tall figure, hooded and cloaked, gliding eerily after the woman.

A sudden thought hit him. If he gave them the names of everybody that might threaten Lily… He felt sick for the betrayal, but it was worth it to save Lily. Most everyone that posed a threat needed to be removed from society anyway, for they didn't hesitate to harm innocents. He'd been horrified to learn everything that they were capable of.

He didn't have time to voice his thoughts because the patronus went to stand in front of the Aurors, and the hooded figure approached him.

And everything faded. The Aurors were speaking, as if from a great distance, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He could hear his father shouting, see his mother staring at nothing, hear a woman speaking, "Born as the seventh month dies." He saw a red haired woman, dead. He couldn't remember who she was, but the crushing sense of despair and grief and guilt overwhelmed him because her death was his fault somehow. H stared in horror at a Muggle woman as she fell back in death, and the men beside him laughed. How was this remotely funny? Vision after vision flashed across his vision, and he couldn't bear the feelings that accompanied them. Guilt. Grief. And above all, a hopeless feeling of utter despair.

And then it began to fade. Something slammed into his cheek. Then voices sounded from somewhere far away.

"Well, that sure didn't go as planned. I've never them affect anyone like that before."

"What a weakling. A five year old child wouldn't collapse like that."

Opening his eyes, Snape realized that he was curled into a ball on the chair, hands still magically bound to the arms. Warm wetness stained his cheeks, and some clinical part of his brain noted that he'd been crying. He still was crying. A sour taste in his mouth and nose told him that he'd lost his lunch. Some clinical part of his brain told him that he should care about these things, but he couldn't bring himself to bother about much of anything at the moment. He was responsible for so much evil; he couldn't quite remember what evil exactly, but the weight of his guilt proved it. He didn't have the motivation to move at all.

"I think he's coming to. Try hitting him again."

A heavy fist slammed into his jaw, but he didn't respond. If anything, he welcomed the pain at the moment.

Vaguely, he registered movement from somewhere in front of his face.

"He's in shock, I think."

"Well, we need to snap him out of it. Dumbledore's certainly on to us by now."

"Maybe we should try the veritaserum. It can't hurt, at any rate."

"Or maybe, we just haven't tried the right methods of waking him up. Crucio!"

* * *

Remus joined her, bringing a few liverwurst sandwiches with him.

"Have you heard about Snape?" She nodded wordlessly.

"I'm glad he's gone. Having him so close was making me twitchy. Especially when he tried to sneak away with Harry." She frowned. A scant few hours ago she would have agreed with the sentiment, but now…

"We don't know that he was sneaking away." Remus looked incredulous. "I mean, maybe he just didn't want us to see him." She didn't know what his intentions had been, but she would find out soon enough. And until then, she wouldn't make any more hasty judgments.

"I thought you were done making excuses for him."

"They're not excuses! We just don't know the whole story, that's all." Part of her wanted to explain everything to Remus, but she didn't want to accidently endanger Sev. He'd kept very quiet about being a spy, and he must have had a reason for that. So for the moment, she said nothing.

"Umm, OK." Wisely, he changed the subject, "Any signs of that memory returning?"

She sighed. The missing days grated on her nerves; she fervently hoped to regain those memories. "I'm afraid not. Madame Pomfrey says that unless I was Obliviated, there's a chance that it'll come back on its own. But she doesn't want to force anything. Says it could be very dangerous."

His eyes widened. "How so?"

"She could accidently wipe _all_ of my memories. Permanently. Or put me in a coma or something." She paused for a moment. "There is one fairly safe procedure that she can try though. There's a very good chance that it won't work, but it won't cause any damage either. She'd have to put me to sleep for a few hours, doused with a special potion to encourage neural connections. It's been known to help all sorts of brain problems, and occasionally it's helped wizards recover lost memories."

"When are you going to try it?"

"Tomorrow morning. If you could watch Harry then…"

"I would be delighted."

"Thanks Remus." Looking into his warm eyes, Lily didn't understand how anyone could label this kind, gentle soul as a monster.

* * *

"What have you _done_?" There was something incredibly frightening about that voice. It pulsed with fury and hinted at unbelievable power.

"Ah, Albus. Just a few routine questions, you know, nothing too major…"

"Do you think I'm blind?"

"He wasn't cooperating…"

"I told you to leave him alone! And this is how you repay me!"

"I'm sorry Albus! But we need to use every advantage we can get, and he knows..." The apologetic voice was cut off.

"I've already told you everything he knows you fools!"

A new voice entered the argument. "Now don't be silly Dumbledore. He certainly knows more than he's told you, and we have a right to question him about it." The new voice clearly had no sense of self-preservation.

A deep rumbling sound echoed from somewhere, as if the very earth were shaking. A light flashed somewhere, and something cracked. Loudly.

"Please calm down, Albus! We're just trying to do our jobs here. Surely you can accept that."

"Not when you do it like this. Do you any idea how hard I've worked to gain his trust? He would have given me any information I asked for. And you… What have you done to him?"

"Nothing! It was the dementor. We brought it in and he just collapsed! Haven't been able to get a word out of him since."

There was a brief silence. Then the powerful voice spoke again. "I am taking him back to Hogwarts. Don't you dare follow me."

Gentle hands lifted him.

* * *

After putting Harry to bed for his nap, Lily found Dumbledore carrying Sev's limp form up to the hospital wing. The slender young wizard looked uncharacteristically frail.

She couldn't stop herself from running forward. "What…"

"Not now, Lily." His gaze didn't hold a hint of a twinkle. "He'll be alright. But he doesn't need a group of strangers gawking at him."

"I'm not a stranger."

"Aren't you?" His gaze pierced her.

She suddenly realized that he was right. She _was_ a stranger. Of course, she hoped remedy that particular problem in the near future, but for the moment…it was true. He hadn't even mentioned his true role in the war to her. Why, they'd hardly spoken to each other for _years_.

Throat suddenly tight, she spun around and walked down the corridor.

* * *

**Disclaimer** If you think I am making money from this fic, I have a bridge in New York to sell you. It's for a very reasonable price.

**A/N** I apologize for misleading everybody last chapter. I honestly didn't expect anyone to believe that I was serious. Someone really should write a story about Black and Snape in Azkaban! Unfortunately, I'm not the one to do it. I've tried. It doesn't work for me.

This chapter is dedicated to Guest. There might be more than one of you Guests, I wouldn't know. But I appreciate your reviews!


	16. The Eavesdropper

**The Eavesdropper**

Marching past a group of fifth years, Lily stopped a little ways from the old DADA classroom to stare out the tall window into the school grounds. She gnawed nervously at her lower lip, trying not to think about how frail Sev had looked in Dumbledore's arms. What had happened to him? What if he was seriously hurt? What if he _died_? She knew that she was being melodramatic, but she couldn't relax. And she wasn't planning to _gawk, _she only needed to know that he was alright. Nothing more.

She tried to focus on something, anything else. Once, she and James had looked out this window together, during their N.E.W.T.S. Amid all the stress of the exams, they'd managed to relax a little, watching the moonlight on the lake outside.

James…a pain that had become very familiar in the past few days shot through her heart. Carefully she reached into her robes for his Invisibility Cloak. The silvery fabric was beautiful and familiar, although she couldn't smell James on it. Hold this piece of him, she felt strangely at peace. He wouldn't have wanted her to mope, he would've wanted her to move on and love Harry with all her heart.

Her mind moved inevitably back to Sev. She needed to know that he would be alright. Unfortunately, the Headmaster's opinion of her presence had been quite clear. However…she eyed the cloak speculatively.

* * *

Entering the hospital wing turned out to be surprisingly difficult. Lily didn't dare open the door while wearing the cloak – what if Dumbledore noticed – but there was no other way in.

She'd finally resigned herself to hoping no one would notice the door opening without apparent reason when Professor McGonagall appeared and entered the room. Lily slipped in behind her.

The hospital wing held several injured students. The Transfiguration Mistress strode to the the far end of the room into Madame Pomfrey's office. Trying not to make a sound, Lily tiptoed after her. She found Sev behind a privacy screens next to the office. Fast asleep and buried in blankets, he looked small and miserable, like some small cave-dweller that had been dragged into the light. What was wrong with him? He had a black eye and bruised jaw, but those didn't seem to be serious… Where had he gotten those anyway? Had someone _hit_ him? Lily scowled, suddenly furious at whoever had done such a thing.

She froze as footsteps sounded nearby. Professor McGonagall left, but Professor Dumbledore walked slowly to Sev's side, conjuring a squashy armchair that narrowly missed Lily's right elbow, and seating himself. His eyes weren't twinkling. Lily held her breath, but his full attention remained on his youngest staff member, as the school nurse healed his visible injuries with a few quick charms and left to check her other patients.

Several long minutes ticked by, and Lily realized that she was effectively trapped in a corner by the bed, the privacy screen, and the armchair. Had anything like this ever happened to James under the Cloak? Just when she was beginning to wonder if she would be stuck here all night, Sev's eyes flickered and the Headmaster called softly for Madame Pomfrey.

The Mediwitch brought a steaming cup of – Lily's nose twitched – hot chocolate, and pressed it firmly to Sev's lips. He tried to refuse it, but was no match for a woman who regularly forced unpleasant potions down teenaged throats. Black eyes flew open, startled. Clearly disoriented, he blinked several times, bringing a smile to Lily's invisible lips, before reflexively flinching away from Madame Pomfrey.

He didn't refuse the chocolate that the school nurse pressed into his hand, convincing Lily that something must be seriously wrong with him.

"You came for me." Almost too soft to hear and laced with confusion, his voice sounded unusually raspy.

The Headmaster tried to put his hand on Sev's shoulder, unsuccessfully, as the younger wizard jerked away violently at the movement. "Of course I came for you, my boy! I…"

Sev interrupted him. "Why?"

"I am deeply sorry for the delay, I came as soon as I found out…" Sev shook his head sharply in response.

"No, why did you come at all?"

For a moment, the Headmaster seemed lost for words. "I always protect my own, Severus. That does include you, you know."

Black eyes narrowed. "Not the Potters."

"I am protecting the Potters, my boy, that's why they're here at the school."

"Because I swore allegiance to you. But you said you wouldn't do it for free." There was a long pause.

"You might have misunderstood…"

"You asked what I would give you to protect them." Dumbledore scratched his beard uncomfortably.

"Yes, well, surely you realize that I would have helped them anyway. I'm not Voldemort." Sev flinched at the name, eyes suddenly deadened.

"You lied to me then." There was another long pause, while Lily's thoughts raced, trying to understand what was going on here. She'd never seen Dumbledore look so uncomfortable.

"Surely you understand. I needed to ensure your assistance."

"So you lied to 'ensure my assistance.' "

"I do apologize, my boy. It's difficult for me to work with Slytherins."

"It's easy. Give us what we want and we'll do the same for you. I would have helped you simply because you protected Lily from the Dark Lord. You didn't need to lie. And I still don't understand why you came for me today. You hardly need my 'assistance' anymore. And I disgust you."

This time Dumbledore was the one to flinch. "I may have been under a few misapprehensions when I said that. But since then I've re-evaluated your character, and I've been proud to work with you."

Sev raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"I'm afraid that our relationship started off on the wrong foot, and I'm deeply sorry for it. You have proven yourself immensely courageous and innately honorable, and I apologize for misjudging you. Could we start over?" Blue eyes met black, and then Sev nodded sharply. He still didn't look entirely convinced though.

"Very well. I'm afraid that I've exhausted you, so I'll come back to speak to you in the morning. But know that I will protect you, my boy." Giving the younger wizard an immensely gentle smile, he left. Sev clearly wasn't himself, for he didn't argue when Madame Pomfrey returned with a goblet filled with Dreamless Sleep, along with more chocolate.

Finally, Lily managed to make her escape, opening the door as quietly as possible to slip out. Just when her world was beginning to make some sort of sense, everything had been jumbled up again. She had a lot to think about.

* * *

**Disclaimer** It's been nearly a month, and I _still_ don't own _Harry Potter_! I keep offering to buy it for $2 but JKR keeps refusing...

**A/N** If I apologized for the wait, then this story would turn into an obligation and I'd never finish it. So I'll be rude and offer none. I _do_ apologize for the short length though. And for any errors...it's too late for me to edit properly.

You didn't really think Lily would leave, did you? She's really quite nosy. And Harry's saving-people-thing certainly didn't come from _James_ either.

And this chapter is dedicated to Professor Radar. They made a comment some time ago, and it shaped this chapter.


	17. Gryffindorish Planning

**Gryffindorish Planning**

Lily returned to the Hospital Wing, visible this time, bright and early the next morning along with Remus and Harry. A woman's raised voice could be heard halfway down the corridor.

"I don't care who you are, you do NOT leave MY infirmary without MY say-so!" Lily couldn't hear the response, although Madame Pomfrey's clear tones rang out again soon enough. "I don't care what YOU think, you are my patient, and you must wait for me to release you just like everyone else! I'm sick and tired of heading you off! Trying to sneak off like that; you are leaving a very poor example for the students, young man!"

As they entered the room, Lily could see the school nurse glaring fiercely up at Sev. He was glaring back, arms folded defensively across his chest.

"I'm perfectly fine, woman," he snarled. "And _I_ have important things to do, unlike the little dunderheads. I never consented to be your patient, you cannot hold me here any longer, and I am leaving."

"Fine," she sniped, "Since you seem to be fully recovered, I am releasing you. But before you go, you really ought to eat a bit more chocolate."

"If you try to stuff one more piece of that sickeningly sweet substance down my throat, I guarantee I will be sick."

She shrugged. "It's your choice." Then she noticed Lily and Remus, and she immediately smiled cheerfully. "Oh hello Lily, Remus. I'm all ready for you. Poor Professor Snape here encountered a dementor yesterday. It's truly terrible, what those creatures do to people who are already fragile."

If looks could kill, she would have been obliterated on the spot. Lily could actually hear Sev's teeth grinding together. However, he apparently decided not to dignify the Mediwitch's last comment with a response, and swept out of the room without looked at anyone, which was just as well, because Lily didn't think she could hide her amused smile. He was clearly fully recovered.

"Alright, now dearie, let's go over this procedure one more time. It won't take more than 20 minutes or so, but it involves some delicate spellwork, and I'll need an assistant. Did Mr. Lupin here volunteer? Oh good, you'll be perfect for the task Mr. Lupin. Now, in order for this to work properly, it's important that you don't think for a few hours beforehand. So, I'm going to dose you with dreamless sleep right now, and when you wake up it'll all be over. And please remember that this is a long shot, and you might not regain your memory. But even if you don't remember, at least we tried."

Lily nodded, reminded Remus to take care of Harry, and drank down the cool potion.

* * *

Carrying the last shreds of his dignity, Snape stalked back to his office, ignoring the students giving him a wide berth. He was a Slytherin, a talented inventor, a Potions Master, a Death Eater, a spy, a professor. He wasn't _fragile_. How dare that overbearing shrew suggest such a thing? And in front of Lily _and_ the werewolf too. It was a ridiculous claim!

And yet…the doubts trickled through. He had never encountered a dementor before yesterday. But he did know that people didn't normally collapse at the creatures' approach. They felt hopeless, but they didn't relive their worst memories or become incoherent. What was wrong with him? Really, it was obvious. He'd tried so hard to become strong and powerful, but clearly he'd failed. Even a first year was stronger than him.

He tried to think about something else. Dumbledore. He couldn't believe his own audacity last night. What had possessed him to talk to the Headmaster like that? The man had rescued him against all expectations, and he'd responded by verbally attacking. He needed to apologize for such horrendous behavior as soon as possible. Really, he'd be lucky if the Headmaster didn't throw him back to the Aurors for such insolence.

Lastly, he realized that it was time to deal with Sirius Black's situation. Yesterday morning, he'd have been happy to leave the man as he was. After all, _someone_ would surely realize that the man wasn't exactly a Death Eater. Maybe he would've told Lily and the werewolf the truth to hasten things up.

But now, he couldn't stop thinking about Black, alone and trapped with those…creatures. It was a fate worse than death. Black would go insane. And he was innocent. Well, innocent of the crime they locked him up for anyways.

Snape hated the arrogant bully. But now, Black was surrounded by dementors. His so-called friends had abandoned him. Even Dumbledore had abandoned him. No one had bothered to give him a trial. And Snape realized that he couldn't simply wait for someone else to stand up for the git. No one else knew about his innocence. Or at least, no one else seemed to care.

He couldn't rely on Dumbledore to help; the man had made that very clear the first time he'd mentioned Black's innocence. Lily undoubtedly hated him now; she likely wouldn't believe him. Lupin certainly wouldn't believe him.

He couldn't go to Magical Law Enforcement without solid evidence. They'd never believe his word. In fact, they'd likely arrest him again.

And in Azkaban, Black couldn't wait for Snape to find the evidence necessary to exonerate him. There was only one thing to do. He'd have to find a way to break Black out. Hopefully, the idiot would then know where to find the evidence to prove his innocence.

The whole plan felt shamefully Gryffindorish. But try as he might, Snape couldn't think of another way.

Ignoring everybody else, he slunk into the Great Hall to force down a few bites of porridge. He wasn't hungry, but he knew Miri would track him down if he failed to eat here. While he was wondering whether she would consider three bites sufficient nourishment, the Headmaster sauntered and seated himself directly to Snape's right.

Like always, he was nauseatingly cheerful. "Isn't is a wonderful morning, Severus? I'm positively thrilled to see you up and about again! And you needn't worry about the students – I explained that your arrest was a mistake last night."

It was now or never. "About last night sir, I apologize for the things I said. I don't know what came over me; everything just seemed so hopeless already that I didn't consider anything I was saying…" Dumbledore's hand clapped down on his shoulder, and Snape struggled not to flinch.

"Don't apologize, my boy! I'm very glad we had that conversation. It wasn't fun, it was good for me. I'm afraid that I'm not as wise as they say, and I need people to remind me of my faults."

"Nevertheless, I shouldn't have…"

"Oh yes you should have my boy! You didn't challenge me publicly, and it's over now, so I will hear no more of it. Would you like to try one of these sausages? They're heavenly with the fruit syrup." Watching the Headmaster drown the greasy things in sugary syrup effectively killed what little remained of Snape's appetite.

Finally back in his office, he planned out the rest of his day. He needed to meet with his students before they returned home tomorrow, get a final list of everyone that would be staying at Hogwarts, put volatile potion ingredients that would have been used for class into stasis, brew more hair-restorer, bone-regrower, and dreamless sleep for the infirmary, research foolproof ways to keep Lily and Harry safe, and of course, research Azkaban.

There were a few major flaws in his plan to rescue Sirius Black from the wizard prison. The biggest was the rumor that nobody had ever escaped before. Then again, wizards tended to be unimaginative, and perhaps no one had escaped because no one had ever tried before. Snape sincerely hoped that was the case. Then there were the dementors. He would need something more than his patronus; he doubted that he would even be able to cast it anywhere near the Azkaban guards. He also needed an undetectable way on and off of island.

Most of all, he needed information. He needed to know everything about Azkaban, about its strengths and its weaknesses. Some of that information could be found in books, but he doubted that he would be able to find enough. If only he or someone else could actually enter the prison to observe...

"Miri?"

The little house elf appeared immediately, looked positively thrilled. "How can Miri be helping Master sir?"

He began his speech, before being derailed. "Miri, I could use your help and what happened to your uniform?" Instead of the usual Hogwart tea towel, she was dressed in a sleek black skirt and blouse with silver markings. A gleaming Slytherin crest adorned her narrow chest.

Her eyes widened, and she looked down as if noticing the new uniform for the very first time. "It changed!" she practically squealed. "Miri loves it!" Then she gave him an absurdly hopeful look. "Is Master liking it?"

"It's acceptable. Better than before, actually." He nearly tripped when she jumped forward to hug his knees tightly. He did prefer this new uniform to the old one, but the switch was confusing him. Did house elves ever normally change their outfits? He shook his head slightly, Miri's new clothing was not important.

"So I could use your help with a…project. But only if you want to. You shouldn't feel obligated…" She interrupted him.

"Miri is wanting to help!"

He glared at her. "Wait until you hear what it is first. Then think _carefully_ about whether you really want to do this. It might be dangerous, and you are in no way obligated to do anything. I will not be offended if you choose not to participate."

"Miri is wanting to participate."

He sighed. "Promise me that you will hear me out and then honestly consider not helping, or I won't tell you anything."

She folded her tiny arms. "Fine. Miri promises." Her tone clearly indicated that she was humoring him. "And then Master will eat some breakfast."

"What? I already ate!"

"Three bites is not being enough to sustain fully-growed wizard. And Master ate only chocolate last night."

Refusing to consider exactly how she could possibly know all this, he growled, "I will eat only if you _seriously _consider refusing my proposal."

She glared back, obviously offended at his insinuation that she might not want to help, but at least she waited to hear him out before agreeing to his plan.

* * *

Lily blinked, trying to remember her last week with James. Shoulders slumping, she met Remus's kind eyes and shook her head slightly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered gently.

"'S all right," she murmured. "We knew it probably wouldn't work. It's just…I guess I was hoping for a miracle."

Madame Pomfrey sighed and shrugged her shoulders philosophically. "Not everything works out in the profession. Keep your chin up dear. You memory may still return on its own. But that'll take time."

Trying not to show her disappointment, Lily nodded. "Can I go?" The school nurse nodded gently.

"Where's Harry?"

"Asleep, in Madame Pomfrey's office," Remus answered. She nodded. Suddenly wanting to be alone, she slipped out to check on her son.

Remus had placed Harry on a soft mattress on the floor for his nap. What was he _thinking_? And apparently, the little boy had awakened sometime during her procedure and crawled away.

Because he was nowhere to be found.

* * *

**Disclaimer**

What? You mean the word disclaimer doesn't speak for itself?

**A/N** This chapter is dedicated to Saint Snape. Her lovely reviews pushed this chapter forward a few days!


	18. Slytherin Sneaking

**Slytherin Sneaking**

Frantically Lily searched the corridor to the right of the hospital wing while Remus searched the left side. She tried to remember that Harry was almost certainly safe; he couldn't have gotten far and _someone_ was sure to find him. She just worried about who that someone might be. What if they were evil? What if they wanted to kill him out of revenge?

There! Harry's clear laugh rang from inside a classroom. She rushed forward, stepped into the room, and froze.

Several students were standing in the middle of the room, one of them holding her son. But, that wasn't the part that frightened Lily. All three sported green and silver. Slytherins! Were they budding dark wizards? Reacting instinctively, Lily began to step forward – and stopped again, suddenly remembering advice from her childhood best friend. _Think before you act Lily. I know you want to help, but if you don't stop to think you could do more harm than good._ If she rushed to the rescue now, the girl holding Harry might harm him. She needed to be a little bit more cautious than that. And besides, they might not intend to hurt him anyways. She needed to get closer without attracting their attention.

Remembering the Invisibility cloak, safely tucked inside her robes for her operation this morning, she quickly pulled it out and over her head. Miraculously, none of the Slytherins noticed the movement.

They didn't seem to be threatening Harry. Quite the contrary, actually.

"He's so adorable!" Harry smiled at the blond girl and clapped his hands. The boy, clearly bored, simply raised his eyebrows.

"I bet they're looking for him though," responded the dark-eyed girl currently holding Harry. Lily knew that she should reveal herself, but spying from under the cloak was becoming surprisingly fun. Plus, she didn't want them to know about it.

"Let's take him to Professor Snape," the girl continued. She looked to be in her second or third year. "He'll know what to do."

The blond sighed, than tossed her long hair over her shoulder. "You go ahead. I'm going to the kitchens to load up for the party tonight. Come with me, Loten." She marched right past Lily, who trailed after the other girl. She knew she should reveal herself and claim Harry, but she rather wanted to see how Sev would treat her son when left alone with him. She could always step in if Harry was in danger. So, feeling very like the stereotypical sneaky Slytherin, she followed the girl all the way to the dungeons, hidden under the cloak.

The girl finally stopped in front of a heavy wooden door and knocked with the confidence of one who is performing a familiar action. After a few moments, the door swung silently open and the girl stepped inside gripping a squirming Harry tightly. Lily followed her into the office just in time, as the door closed immediately behind her.

She could see Sev on the other side of his desk, hunched – as usual – over an enormous tome. His gaze was unreadable. "Miss Darcy," he murmured quietly, raising a questioning eyebrow at Harry.

Harry, on the other hand, immediately recognized Sev and held out his arms proclaiming, "Ba' man!" Lily resisted the sudden urge to laugh when Sev scowled back at the child.

As she attempted to step further into the room she felt a tug on the cloak and it began to slide off. Somehow she managed to save it, pulling it firmly back over her head, but it didn't slip out of the door.

"What's he trying to say sir?"

"The inane gibberings of a child do not concern me. What are you doing with him?"

"I found him on the second floor corridor with the portrait of the Moustache Man," explained Miss Darcy as she placed Harry gently on the ground. "I couldn't leave him there alone; some people don't like him much you know." Apparently realizing that a dungeon is no place for a toddler to explore, Sev quickly stepped around the desk and scooped up the little boy. Harry laughed.

"And you decided to bring him to me? Madame Pomfrey would have been closer." Just about anyone would have been closer. He transfigured a quill into a rubber duck for Harry's benefit.

Lily tugged firmly on the Cloak, but the door refused to release it.

"Well, sir, I saw you with him yesterday, and I thought he might like you better."

"Of course you did." Sev's tone of voice transmitted a certain lack of enthusiasm, but Miss Darcy didn't seem to notice. Rather, she frowned thoughtfully at Harry, now happily playing with his rubber duckie.

"Do you think he really destroyed You-Know-Who?"

"No."

"You don't? But then, how was he killed?" Sev pursed his lips thoughtfully for a few moments before responding.

"The Dark Lord engaged in many dangerous practices in his pursuit of power. Presumably this habit finally caught up with him. At any rate, the idea that someone who cannot even speak properly could have done it is utterly ridiculous."

The girl nodded sagely. "Of course it is. I thought the story in the _Daily Prophet_ sounded strange. But some people still believe that Harry did it somehow." She lowered her voice. "Wesley Stinx says that Harry deserves to pay for taking down You-Know-Who. And some of the others agreed with him." She was whispering by now. "Do you know what I think, Professor? I'm not stupid enough to tell Wesley Stinx, but _I_ think that You-Know-Who was evil! And I think that anyone who followed him was either a fool or very wicked. And I think that anyone who wants to take revenge on a little boy is evil too!"

Sev's thin lips curled upward in amusement. "I daresay you're right Miss Darcy." The girl flushed with pleasure. "Thank-you for helping Harry today. It was very wise of you to take him to a teacher. Now, are you all packed up for tomorrow?" She shook her head. "Then you'd best get started, or do you imagine your things will somehow pack themselves?"

"No sir."

To her horror, Lily realized that the girl was going to walk into her as she pushed the door open. She lunged to the side, but the cloak still held her trapped against the door. The girl was bound to feel her.

At the last possible moment, Miss Darcy turned around. "When Professor Slughorn retired, I didn't think you'd be a good replacement. I mean, you're just out of school yourself! But, I was wrong. I like you much better, sir." Sev's sallow cheeks immediately flushed. It did nothing for his appearance.

In the meantime Lily managed to scoot as far to the right as possible without losing the Cloak's protection. She passed within a couple of centimeters of Lily's shoulder on her way out.

Lily glanced back into the room only to see Sev staring straight at her with narrowed eyes. For a wild moment she was certain that he could see her, but then reason kicked in. He'd always had unusually sharp hearing, and he'd probably heard her footsteps when she'd stepped away from the door. After a few moments, he relaxed and studied Harry morosely. "You again? Why do you keep bothering me, you little monster?"

"Sev," said Harry cheerfully.

"Mmmm. Well, the cold dungeons are no place for a little boy, and no doubt someone is looking for you. The question is, how do I get you back without being accused of kidnapping again?" Lily suddenly felt uncomfortably hot under the Cloak. It was quickly become clear that Sev hadn't been trying to kidnap Harry yesterday. Of course, she reminded herself, he _had_ been spying on them under suspicious circumstances.

"Run Sev!" suggested Harry.

"That's just the typically dunderheaded idea I might have expected from your father. If you don't have good ideas, don't share them."

"Run pweese," Harry was adamant.

"I will not. Now, we probably ought to avoid the werewolf, considering what happened last time we went looking for him." Lily couldn't stop herself from gasping out loud – Remus's condition was a _secret. _Since when did Sev know about it?

"And I certainly can't take you directly to your mother. She'll hex first and ask questions later." Lily felt insulted by that assumption! But…perhaps she _had_ been a little bit too quick to assume to worst of him. Maybe.

Sev was still mulling over possibilities. "I can't ask Miri to take you to her either, she's sure to be gone by now. The Headmaster will probably regretfully refuse to take you. How about Madame Pomfrey?"

"Run?" asked Harry hopefully.

"For the last time, no you spoiled little brat." Harry giggled. "Of course she treats sick children all day. Not the best environment for you. But Pro…I mean Filius might be willing to take you to Lily."

As Sev stood up, Harry cried out eagerly. "Up, up!" With a long-suffering sigh, the man swung the child onto his shoulders, muttering darkly about spoiled little brats all the while.

Lily managed to slip out just behind Sev. He didn't even hear hear her footsteps thanks to her sons' cheerful chatter. Realizing that this was her chance to a) collect Harry and b) finally sit down and talk to Sev since Dumbledore's revelation yesterday. She still wasn't quite sure what to say to him, but some things needed to be clarified. Like how he knew that Remus was a werewolf. And what he meant last night, about swearing allegiance to Dumbledore "because you wouldn't do it for free." Whatever 'it' was.

So she waited for him to reach the middle of a corridor, pulling off the Cloak and stuffing it back into her robes, turned the corner, and called out "Sev!"

* * *

**Disclaimer** I do not practice cannibalism. Nor do I own _Harry Potter._ (**Disclaimer of the disclaimer** This particular disclaimer actually belongs to Viskii on this site. It's just too good not to share though.)

**A/N** I do apologize for my lack of response to reviews for last chapter. And for the wait. You see, I moved out of my home, took final exams, got married, went on a honeymoon, found housing for the summer, moved into my new home, and started a new job. So, I ended up being too busy to write or respond to much until now.

This chapter is dedicated to LadyXSidian.

**Optional Extra A/N** As if the first one wasn't optional, ha. A few questions have come up via anonymous reviewers.

_Does Snape have any outside friends?_ Of course he does. Mostly, they're merely acquaintances, but he is very good friends with the Malfoys. We haven't seen or heard about them them much because Snape's been otherwise occupied.

_Why'd you write Snape so OOC last chapter, you twit? I was enjoying the story until then._ OK, those exact words weren't used, but I think the meaning remains the same. The full answer is too long to give here, although I'll happily PM it to anyone who cares to know how I justified the OOCness. The short answer is that I'm not talented enough to write this without making people OOC at times. Sometimes it just won't work out otherwise.

For example, while I enjoy the LE/SS pairing, I don't think it's possible to write it (with a happy ending anyways) without making one or both of them OOC. Not that I'm necessarily doing that or anything. It's just an example of why a story might not work out without some OOCness creeping in. I do try my best to limit it!


	19. Preparations

**Preparations**

Snape startled, spun about with wide eyes, and froze in horror, expecting to be hexed any second. When no spell immediately arrived, he started talking very quickly.

"Oh Lily. Hi Lily. I mean, Evans. I mean Mrs. Potter. I swear I am not kidnapping your son. In fact, you can take him right now. He's all yours." With Harry in her arms, she wouldn't be able to curse him as easily. However Lily didn't look nearly as upset as he might have anticipated. In fact, she was actually smiling a little. He made the mistake of meeting her eyes, and was instantly mesmerized.

As always, she was direct. "Sev, we need to talk." Shock kept him silent, so she continued. "Dumbledore told me some things yesterday."

Horror flooded him. "What things?" With Dumbledore, anything was possible.

She arched a sculpted eyebrow, glancing meaningfully up and down the corridor. "Things about you."

He swallowed hard, torn between needing to hear exactly what Dumbledore might have said and needing to slowly strangle the old meddler with his own beard. Best to learn the full extent of the damage first.

A few minutes later, they were both seated awkwardly in front of the fireplace in his private quarters (Lily had suggested they find someplace more comfortable than across the desk in the office.) Snape knew he should offer tea, biscuits, _some_ kind of refreshment, but he couldn't summon Miri until she returned from her mission, and he didn't want to ask for another elf after several long months spent convincing the little creatures that they were _not_ welcome in his quarters. They'd undoubtedly take any request as a sign of weakness and assume they were welcome to come back.

With what felt like superhuman patience, he waited for Lily to explain exactly what she knew. Instead of getting to the point, she glanced about, bounced Harry on her knee, and commented, "Interesting color scheme you have in here."

His face must have shown something of his opinion of _that _comment, because she hastened to add, "I mean there's nothing wrong with it or anything, it's just that black is, I don't know, a bit depressing, and I know you couldn't care less about my opinion of your quarters, but I just don't know where to start. I've learned a lot of new things in the last day or so."

He leaned forward intently, voice deep and intent. "What exactly did Dumbledore tell you?"

She took a deep breath. "Well, he said that you're an unofficial member of the Order." Green eyes studied him intently, looking for confirmation. He raised an eyebrow, wordlessly urging her to go on. "He said that you were spying on You-Know-Who for us." He wondered whether 'for us' referred to the Potter family specifically, or the Order of the Phoenix as a whole.

Carefully measuring his words, he murmured, "That is true. Did he say anything else?"

She flushed and studied the carpet with great interest. "No." She'd always been an awful liar. But then her eyes flashed, "Why didn't you mention that the other day? I know it was a secret, but you could have told me! You certainly had no problem telling me about the Prophecy!"

He scowled. "You deserved to know the part about the Prophecy. The rest of it was none of your business."

She scowled back. On her face, the expression looked downright adorable, which was no doubt why her scowl had never dissuaded James. "You turned your back on the Death Eaters and it's none of my business? Do you have any idea of how much I've wished for that? You know I can keep a secret – and you couldn't be bothered to tell me?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off, speaking louder and louder. "Spying is dangerous work, Sev! What if you'd been hurt? What if you'd _died_? Would I ever have known? Would _anyone_ besides Dumbledore have known? And what were you _thinking_ when you handed over that prophecy?"

It wasn't his proudest moment. Luckily, he did not have to formulate an answer to that last question, because she started up again, more calmly this time.

"And why? Why did you change your mind? I thought you were set on the whole being a Death Eater thing. So why did you change your mind?" Her gaze was rather sharp now, as if she was looking for something.

"I…I changed my mind after the Prophecy incident. I guess I hadn't realized he was evil enough to kill a child." That much was true. He'd heard rumors, of course; he just hadn't believed them. The Dark Lord had successfully convinced him that the stories were blown out of proportion, not a difficult task while he remained sequestered in a laboratory to brew potions and invent spells.

They sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating. Harry, having spent most of his earlier naptime escaping the hospital wing, was beginning to doze on his mother's lap despite the shouting. Finally, Lily murmured, "You didn't balk at all the other horrible things he did."

"I didn't believe the stories were true." When she raised a skeptical eyebrow, he hastened to add, "He never asked me to hurt anyone, at least not directly. And I didn't want to believe the stories… It was easy to see him as a misunderstood freedom fighter."

"One that uses Unforgivables."

"Lily, there are lots of worse things than Unforgivables. Which is more humane: Avada Kedavra or the Entrail Expelling Curse?"

She hissed with frustration. "Fine. I was hoping that maybe we could somehow be friends again, but it won't work if you're still using dark magic."

He stiffened with surprise, then forced himself to speak. "What do you have against it?"

She glared, clearly upset again. "We've been over this a thousand times! I hate it because it hurts people!"

"Alright then I won't use Dark Magic to hurt," he stopped himself from saying 'anyone,' "any innocents. I promise." Of course, he knew very few truly innocent people. All but one were under the age of two.

Unfortunately, she saw the loophole at once. "How are you defining innocence?"

His eyes narrowed. "I think I can judge what people deserve."

"Oh, so did James deserve what you did to him sixth year?" He was still inordinately proud of that particular prank – using a potion and some spellwork of his own invention, he'd managed to turn the git bald for three months. Nothing Madame Pomfrey tried would fix it. Of course in retrospect, taking such revenge for the incident by the lake hadn't exactly been conducive to winning back Lily's friendship. It certainly had felt satisfying though. And Potter had certainly deserved it – although something in Lily's eyes told him that would be the wrong answer to give right now.

"Umm, well…he might not have deserved it."

She rolled her eyes, mildly annoyed but unsurprised by his lack of conviction. "Alright then. So long as you're not hurting people, can we be friends again?"

He forced himself to speak through a suddenly dry throat. "We can try. And I do promise. I can make a vow…"

"That won't be necessary." She sounded nearly as relieved as he felt. Then a blinding smiles spread unexpectedly across her features. "I've missed you, Severus." He could only nod in response.

After a few moments, he glanced back up. "How did you lose Harry earlier today?" She told him about her failed operation, about Harry's escape, and about her search though the school to find him. He noticed that she was lying again. And something seemed off about her story.

"When you called my name earlier, you were standing in the direction of the dungeons, not the hospital wing." Finally, she admitted to hiding under the invisibility cloak.

He raised an eyebrow. "So first you accused _me_ of spying on you, then you proceeded to do the same?"

Judging by her flabbergasted expression, the questionable morality of her own spying expedition had never occurred to her. "I…I…I didn't think of it that way! I never meant to…I'm sorry Sev!"

"You should be sorry. I only hid because I thought you wouldn't want to see me babysitting Harry. _I_ wasn't intending to spy on anyone. You, on the other hand…" She blushed again.

"I won't do it again. I promise."

"Even with that cloak tempting you? Maybe I should hold onto it for a few days." He'd long since noticed that Potter's cloak was extraordinary. It granted the user true invisibility, even refusing to respond to summoning charms that might reveal the wearer. It might even grant invisibility to the dementors of Azkaban! He'd need that cloak for operation Azkaban…

"Wouldn't it tempt you, in that case?"

"Ah, but I am not the one with a history of spying upon others with an invisibility cloak. I use spells when I want to listen in on interesting conversations."

She suddenly grinned. "Actually, I think you might be right. Sneaking about under the cloak was a little too fun. But mind you don't start a habit of sneaking about while you guard the cloak!"

He widened his eyes in mock innocence. "Me, a spy? What would ever give you such a preposterous idea?" Her laughter rang through the gloomy room like a breath of fresh air as she handed over the cloak and stroked Harry's shock of black hair gently.

Their conversation continued – about Harry, about the stress of the war, about their parents, about Arsenius Jigger's latest research, about teaching at Hogwarts, about Snape's own research (he carefully avoided his more dangerous spells), about Lily's life in hiding – they were still talking when Dumbledore arrived to escort Snape to dinner after his forgotten lunch.

Lupin, they learned, had spent the afternoon desperately trying to find either Lily or Harry. Lily gasped and rushed off to assure him of their safety. Snape simply tried not to smirk too openly at the news.

* * *

The next day most of the students left, and Dumbledore kicked Snape out shortly after the students. "Go home, relax and enjoy yourself my dear boy." Clearly, he'd never been to Spinner's End. "And don't come back for at least two weeks!" Before leaving, Snape did manage to borrow the Headmaster's Pensieve, explaining that he needed to study old memories of the Death Eaters. It would also help him re-read any book he'd ever read, a useful ability when planning a prison break, and maybe convince Black of his situation if necessary. Assuming that he managed to rescue Black. He didn't say good-bye to Lily, mostly because he feared she would demand he return the cloak.

The next four days were a blur of activity as he desperately researched, planned, interrogated Miri (who was clearly itching to clean up his house), practiced certain spells, and prepared potions for operation Azkaban.

The night before operation Azkaban, he found himself in front of the fireplace with Miri. Using Occlumency he managed to clear his mind, although he couldn't quite quash his terror at the thought of facing dementors tomorrow. He wished he were braver, like Lily. She wouldn't have to rely on Occlumency to prevent herself from curling up and leaving Black to his fate. Miri gently placed a hand on his knee and met his gaze. "Master is not to worry. Master and Miri planned well – Master will not be caught." She smiled, showing off an array of very crooked yellow-orange teeth. "Master is a good man."

Oddly enough, her courage soothed his fears. "Thank-you for your help, Miri. You are very kind. And very brave." Her ears folded down bashfully, and her brown eyes filled with water. Hoping to stave off the flood, he quickly added, "We really ought to go to bed early. I have a sleeping potion for both of us…"

At that moment, another house elf arrived with a crack. The loyal Death Eaters were holding another meeting in fifteen minutes to discuss their plans involving the Potters.

* * *

**Disclaimer**

Do I really need more than the word 'disclaimer?'

**A/N** All your lovely reviews got this chapter up early! Responses to anonymous reviews can be found on my profile page, for a limited time.

This chapter is dedicated to Marietta.


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